Yale School of Medicine Department of Urology

About Yale School of Medicine Department of Urology

Urology at the Yale School of Medicine has historical roots dating back to the early 20th century when urology was officially accepted as a medical specialty in the U.S. By 1921, a separate section for urology was created at the university when Clyde Leroy Deming, MD, was recruited. Within two years, the section was performing nearly 600 cystoscopies annually. Deming expanded his practice to incorporate urologic surgery, which included the early use of radium to treat cancers of the prostate and bladder. Deming would remain section chief for the next 34 years, performing more than 3,000 perineal prostatectomies, and publishing more than 100 articles. In 1967, Bernard Lytton, MD, became chief. He, along with Howard Levitin, MD, would open the first dialysis unit in Connecticut. This unit made it possible to begin a program in renal transplantation at Yale. Later that same year, Lytton would perform the first kidney transplant in Connecticut. During his tenure, Lytton implemented many urologic programs at Yale and introduced brachitherapy for prostate cancer, percutaneous nephrolithiasis, ureteroscopy and continent urinary diversion. In 1987, Robert Weiss, MD, who had been part of the urology section at Yale since 1967, was appointed chief. He initiated the Pediatric Urology program and established an active research laboratory. He was the first urologist to receive an NIH Merit Award. In 2012, the Urology section officially became a department within the Yale School of Medicine, and Peter G. Schulam, MD, PhD, who was on faculty at UCLA and received his training at Johns Hopkins and Baylor, was appointed the inaugural chair. Patrick A. Kenney, MD, served as interim chair from July 2020 through August 2021. And in September 2021, we welcomed Isaac Y. Kim, MD, PhD, MBA, as the next chair for the Department of Urology, and the chief of urology at Yale New Haven Hospital.

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