Manish A. Vira, MD

Manish Vira, MD, is a urologist at Northwell Health and the chief of urology at the Northwell Cancer Institute. He is also an associate professor of urology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He performs a wide array of surgical techniques, including laparoscopic and robotic surgery, and leads research in the development of diagnostic and surgical methods for urological cancers. "I knew I'd be a physician since I was young," he says. "Early in college, I spent time in India working at hospital camps, where I was exposed to surgery, and had my first experience in the operating room. It was inspiring to see that work, and I knew I wanted to be part of helping people in the same way."While attending Weill Medical College of Cornell University, he became interested in the surgical techniques involved with urology, particularly the use of technology and minimally invasive procedures in the field. He honed his surgical skills during residencies at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and deepened his interest in oncology with a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. Since joining Northwell in 2007, he has helped expand cancer care across the region so that patients can access expert clinical services no matter where they live. That reduces the amount of travel patients need to undertake for high-level cancer care. Dr. Vira was also part of the surgical team that was the first in the area to use a single-port robotic system, which enables complex procedures to be done through a single, small incision.What appeals to him most, however, isn't any type of procedure or innovation-it's patient relationships. "Most of us who go into urology are drawn to the connection we have with patients," he says. "We don't just do a surgery and that's it. In urology, the relationship generally lasts the rest of their life, so there's a primary care aspect. You get to know them, their families, their lives."Every patient situation is unique, he adds, just as every cancer is unique in how it presents in that patient. Dr. Vira looks not just at the disease, but at the patient as a whole in order to understand needs, goals and desires. "That's what personal care is all about," he says. "You get the right treatment to the right patient."