WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Department of Urology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center announces the addition of three new urologic oncologists – Ashok K. Hemal, M.D., A. Karim Kader, M.D., Ph.D., and Joseph A. Pettus IV, M.D.
They join the existing team of physicians, chairman Anthony Atala, M.D., Dean Assimos, M.D., Gopal Badlani, M.D., Hector Henry II, M.D., M.P.H., Steve Hodges, M.D., Gordon McLorie, M.D., and John J. Smith III, M.D., in treating the complete range of urologic conditions and diseases at the new urology patient care clinic at 140 Charlois Blvd.
Hemal, one of the pioneers in establishing robot-assisted surgery in the field of urology, helped develop the initial surgical protocols currently used by most urologists performing robotic surgery. He has traveled throughout the world initiating robotic and laparoscopic surgery programs for a wide range of urologic conditions involving the prostate, bladder, ureter and kidney.
Hemal, a professor of urology, is director of the Robotic and Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery Program at Wake Forest Baptist. He received his medical degrees and completed residencies in surgery and urology from G.R. Medical College in Gwalior, India, and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India. He studied robotics at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich. Hemal is a Fellow in the International College of Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons and the National Academy of Medical Sciences.
Kader and Pettus are active in several national and international clinical trials on the management and outcome of urologic cancers, including prostate, bladder and kidney. They perform robotic, laparoscopic, and open surgery for urologic malignancies. Kader and Pettus are both assistant professors specializing in urologic oncology.
Kader received his Ph.D. degree in immunology and his medical degree from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He completed his urology residency at the University of Toronto and his urologic oncology fellowship at the University of Texas/MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
Pettus came to Wake Forest Baptist from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He received his medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine and completed an internship in general surgery and a residency in urology at the University of Utah. He completed a urologic oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His research interests include bladder and renal tumors.
Last year, the Department of Urology moved its patient care offices to a new state-of –the-art facility with the newest technologies for diagnosis and imaging at 140 Charlois Blvd. in Winston-Salem. The department’s physicians treat urologic conditions and diseases, ranging from urologic cancer to kidney stones, bladder incontinence and sexual dysfunction. Their expertise also includes complex reconstruction, pelvic prolapse, and robotic surgery for several urological conditions, including prostate cancer, bladder, and kidney surgery. In addition, they perform robotic surgery for variety of urological disorders in women and children.
The urology patient care center is also home to the largest pediatric urology group in the state, all affiliated with Brenner Children’s Hospital, taking care of common and complex pediatric urology programs such as hernias, undescended testes, bladder problems, urinary obstruction and kidney reflux.
For an appointment at the urology patient care center, call 336-716-4131.
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Media Contacts: Ann Hopkins, ahopkins@wfubmc.edu, at 336-716-1280, or Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu, or Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu, at 336-716-4587.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Brenner Children’s Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine and Piedmont Triad Research Park. The system comprises 1,154 acute care, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and has been ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report since 1993. Wake Forest Baptist is ranked 32nd in the nation by America’s Top Doctors for the number of its doctors considered best by their peers. The institution ranks in the top third in funding by the National Institutes of Health and 4th in the Southeastern United States in revenues from its licensed intellectual property.