Upstate University Hospital urologists Gennady Bratslavsky and Joseph Jacob have been recognized as two of America’s Best Prostate Cancer Surgeons for 2024 by Newsweek.
The inaugural list of best prostate cancer oncologists and surgeons includes 150 physicians nationwide.
“I am honored not only to be named as one of the top US surgeons, but to lead the only academic urology department recognized between New York City and Ohio,” said Bratslavsky, who serves as chairman of Upstate Urology and the Phillip Capozzi, MD, endowed professor of urology. “Even more impressive is the fact that Upstate Medical University and Upstate Cancer Center has not one but two surgeons [Joseph Jacob] recognized for such honor. Even more, in the entire country, there were only a handful of academic departments with two surgeons recognized as best in their field.”
“It is gratifying to be recognized nationally based on the independent and unsolicited study that focused on surgical outcomes,” said Jacob, chief of urological oncology at Upstate. “This further underlines our efforts in improving patient outcomes and our ability to perform this major surgery that allows patients to go home the same day of surgery. It was also rewarding to see that Upstate was the only cancer center other than Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City recognized in all of the New York state.”
Bratslavsky and Jacob are fellowship-trained in urologic oncology, which requires two additional years of training after completing at least five years of residency training. Bratslavsky and Jacob also serve on the board of the Society of Urologic Oncology Clinical Trial Consortium.
Upstate’s urology clinical practice performs cutting-edge cancer surgeries, conducts groundbreaking clinical trials as well as teaches the new generation of surgeons.
According to Newsweek, the ranking reflects physician performance information based on Medicare data, an online survey of thousands of medical experts, a quality-of-care rating from each specialist’s peers and consideration of their certifications from the American Board of Urology, Radiology and Internal Medicine.
The uniqueness of this ranking is in the methodology that Newsweek had undertaken. It reviewed the data from hundreds of thousands of patients, and specifically focused on objective or measurable outcomes, such as deaths after surgery, any complications, readmissions (need to come back for more procedures or further treatment), or length of the time that patients spent in the hospital.
In cases of Bratslavsky and Jacob, all these parameters were among the best in the country, in the group of elite surgeons with the best outcomes.
Previously, there has have been very little objective data on surgeons’ performance as much of the surgeons’ reputation is based on the “word of mouth.”
In releasing its list of best prostate cancer surgeons, Newsweek said: “For men dealing with prostate cancer, the doctors recognized here represent the best individuals to partner with in pursuit of a healthy future.”
According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the United States. One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their life. Other than skin cancer, it is the most common form of cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer death in men.
The complete list of America’s Best Prostate Cancer Surgeons can be found on Newsweek’s website, www.newsweek.com/rankings/americas-best-prostate-cancer-surgeons-2024.