The Department of Urology offers three positions alternating with two positions yearly (3-2-3-2-3) for our 5-year residency program (one year of general surgery, four years of urology). For 2011 graduates, we will offer two positions. Our residents train with a highly-skilled clinical staff at five hospitals. VUI residents receive an excellent experience in all facets of urology and are able to utilize the latest technology when training with us. VUI has 21 full-time senior staff members (15 clinical, six (6) full-time Ph.D. scientists), and two associate staff. The clinical rotations are mainly at Henry Ford Hospital and three (3) hospitals on the Detroit Medical Center campus (DMC), 10 minutes from Henry Ford Hospital.

The Vattikuti Urology Institute is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation's top urology programs.  VUI (the Department of Urology) is part of the Henry Ford Health System (HFHS).  All of the full-time Vattikuti Urology Institute staff are members of the Henry Ford Medical Group, which is comprised of more than 1,000 physicians and researchers and provides full-time coverage for Henry Ford Hosptial.

Surgeons at the VUI pioneered the development of the field of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery for prostate cancer. Often called da Vinci surgery, our procedure - the Vattikuti Institute Prostatectomy (VIP) - has become the most common approach for the treatment of prostate cancer in the United States. More than 600 robotic prostate procedures were performed at VUI last year, providing care to patients from all 50 states and 23 countries, including the South Pole.

We also utilize robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery in the management of renal and bladder cancer, adrenal diseases, pediatric urological disorders, and female urological diseases. VUI surgeons perform about 220 robotic-assisted surgical procedures for non-prostate disease per year, including:

• complex partial nephrectomy
• adrenalectomy
• cystoprostatectomy
• sacrocolpopexy

as well as a variety of pediatric urological procedures including:

• partial nephrectomy
• pyeloplasty
• ureteroureterostomy
• ureteroneocystostomy
• Mitrofanoff, and Malone procedures

The renal program is under the direction of Craig Rogers, M.D., who trained at the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins, and subsequently at the National Cancer Institute. The pediatric urological program is directed by Jack S. Elder, M.D., who also trained at Johns Hopkins, as well as the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The bladder program is directed by Piyush Agarwal, M.D., who trained at Case School of Medicine and subsequently at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. We recently jointly recruited a urogynecologist, Dr. Ali Luck, from the University of Iowa. Dr. Luck is developing a robotic female urology/urogynecology program at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital.

Our department is growing, having added six full-time senior staff and one associate staff since July 2007, including a full-time biostatistician. Several of our former residents have become directors of robotic urological surgery programs immediately upon completion of the Henry Ford residency. Numerous residents have completed fellowship programs, while some have entered private practice.

Residents see patients in outpatient and inpatient settings. VUI occupies the 9th floor of the K Building (outpatient building) attached to Henry Ford Hospital. The Henry Ford Health System also includes several regional hospitals and more than 30 suburban outpatient clinic facilities.

Where our residents practice

Henry Ford Hospital, the flagship of the Henry Ford Health System, is a 903-bed academic medical center, including 156 intensive care unit beds, the largest number in Michigan. Henry Ford Hospital is a nationally renowned specialty care, teaching and research institution that is affiliated with Wayne State University School of Medicine.

In March 2009 HFHS opened Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in the heart of Oakland County. More than 500 primary care and specialty physicians on staff provide world-class health care in an all private room facility featuring numerous amenities and the most advanced technology available in health care today. Nearly all of the pediatric robotic, as well as some of the robotic prostate and kidney cases are performed here. In addition, many female, pediatric, and general urological procedures are performed at this site. Currently there is not a dedicated resident rotation at Henry Ford West Bloomfield, but appropriate level residents are assigned on a day-by-day basis to this institution.

Children's Hospital of Michigan is a nationally-recognized free-standing children's hospital on the campus of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), approximately 10 minutes from Henry Ford Hospital. Pediatric urological procedures are performed by two full-time pediatric urologists, Dr. Jack S. Elder, and Dr. Yegappan Lakshmanan, who was recruited from Johns Hopkins to serve as Division Chief. The Division also employs a pediatric nephrologist, Dr. Larissa Kovacevic, who directs the voiding dysfunction program and the pediatric stone clinic. Henry Ford Hospital residents work with a junior resident from the DMC osteopathic program on this rotation.

In November 2007, VUI surgeons began providing all of the urological care at the John D. Dingell Veterans Administration Hospital, which also is on the Detroit Medical Center campus. This institution provides an excellent opportunity to develop skills in general urology and oncology. The program is directed by Drs. Frank Holloway and Michael Harris. This rotation provides intensive exposure to general urology and open surgery for urologic oncological conditions.

VUI residents have a two month rotation at Detroit Receiving Hospital, which is adjacent to Children's Hospital on the DMC campus. This rotation is under the direction of Dr. Richard Santucci, who is a world-renowned reconstructive urologic surgeon. This rotation provides extensive experience in urethroplasty, lower urinary tract reconstruction, and urologic trauma.

Program details

The Vattikuti Urology Institute's strengths include a large ambulatory practice, a broad mix of minimally invasive and open surgery, oncology, pediatric urology and basic research, including a full-time biostatistician, Dr. Mireya Diaz, who was recruited in 2007 from Case School of Medicine, where she served as Director of Biostatistics. Dr. Diaz was the biostatistician for the recent AUA Vesicoureteral Guidelines Project and is on the board of consultants for the AUA Practice Guidelines Committee. Our residents benefit from being exposed to a large number and wide variety of patients, as Henry Ford Hospital serves the metropolitan population of Detroit as well as the surrounding suburbs. Henry Ford Urology provides an exceptional environment for learning because of the multiple populations we serve, the state-of-the-art technology we possess and the breadth of experience of our 14 senior staff members.

The Vattikuti Urology Institute designed the first augmented reality operating room with 3-dimensional technology that takes minimally invasive surgery to new levels. An additional two 3-D ORs are being constructed at Henry Ford West Bloomfield. These ORs serve as surgical simulators that provide excellent virtual training for residents and fellows. VUI also sponsored a $5,000,000 state-of-the-art surgical simulation center that opened in 2007.

We offer residents the opportunity to gain strong clinical and research experience, providing them with a multitude of career options upon completion of the program.

We currently have six funded researchers on the Basic Science and Clinical staff. We also have a dedicated GU pathologist, Dr. NIlesh Gupta, as well as a dedicated GU medical oncologist, Dr. Clara Hwang.