Robotic Surgery Expert Personalizing Prostate Cancer Treatment for Israeli Patients

International patients seeking medical expertise and treatment in the United States is a growing part of the U.S. healthcare landscape. In fact, inbound medical tourism is predicted to exceed half a million patient travelers by 2017, according to a Deloitte Center For Health Solutions Report. Over one year ago, the highest percentage of those patients (32%) were seeking oncology treatments according to Stackpole & Associates, an independent research company. As Vice Chairman, Department of Urology, and Chief Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, Dr. David Samadi believes these numbers are too great to be ignored.

Unlike outbound medical tourism, inbound patients are typically not cost-driven. The quality of doctors and state-of-the-art technology in the U.S. attracts patients who are looking for the best possible medical care, regardless of expense. Many times, insurances are covering a portion of their international medical care.

As an internationally recognized robotic prostatectomy expert, Dr. Samadi is actively involved in overseas healthcare from many angles. He has traveled many times to Israel, as well as other countries, sharing his prostate cancer treatment expertise, performing live robotic prostatectomy procedures and demonstrating his SMART (Samadi Modified Advanced Robotic Technique) method of surgery. Beyond the doctor-to-doctor support that Dr. Samadi offers, he is also treating Israeli and other international prostate cancer patients in his NY practice.

“When evaluating prostate cancer treatment options, there’s no need for men to be confined by the borders of their country. For many, a cancer-free life far outweighs the possible inconvenience of seeking treatment in the U.S.,” Dr. Samadi believes. His website, www.roboticoncology.com, provides prostate cancer treatment information in seven different languages, including newly added Hebrew. “More importantly,” he adds, “we are providing international prostate cancer patients with access to the same opportunities for recovery and quality of life as those patients in the U.S.” International patients of Dr. Samadi’s are treated to personalized medicine and total family care from start to finish. His experienced staff guides patients through all aspects of their U.S. prostate cancer surgery, from travel arrangements to family care to recovery, helping to reduce the complexity of such endeavors. “Patients of mine become family, and that family extends far beyond U.S. borders. My staff and I provide an instant support system for both the patients and their families as they face life-saving surgery in the U.S.”

Dr. Samadi believes it is important for other U.S. medical specialists to recognize their roles in world healthcare. “Patients are coming here because they are looking for the best possible medical care. The doctors and surgeons in their countries may have access to new technology, but may not yet have the case experience of U.S. doctors. That is something I can offer them,” says Dr. Samadi. This is true of prostate cancer surgeons in Israel. While many now have the equipment to perform robotic prostatectomy surgery, they simply have not had the patient volume, and therefore level of experience, as surgeons like Dr. Samadi. Having performed over 3,300 successful robotic prostatectomy procedures, his cancer cure rate is 97 percent. Furthermore, 96 percent of Dr. Samadi’s patients regain urinary continence and 87 percent regain sexual function. These are statistics that patients in other countries, with less experienced surgeons, may not find. “Prostate cancer patients deserve treatment options that are timely and medically advanced,” concludes Dr. Samadi.