About Dr. Yew
Biography
Dr. Jay Yew is a urologic surgeon in Southern California. After receiving his Bachelor of Science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Dr. Yew performed neuropharmacology research at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. He considered pursuing a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Neurosciences. Desiring closer patient interactions and care, he decided to pursue medicine instead. Dr. Yew enrolled in the State University of New York Medical Center in Brooklyn where he was Class President and received his Doctor of Medicine degree. Dr. Yew then came to the West coast and completed a competitive and busy urologic surgery residency at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles (referral center for the entire Southern California region).
Dr. Yew recognized and foresaw the enormous beneficial impact that new minimally-invasive robotic laparoscopic technology would have on the future of urologic cancer surgery. Dr. Yew secured a competitive Fellowship in Urologic Oncology, and Robotic Laparoscopic Surgery at the City of Hope National Cancer Center. The City of Hope is an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Care Center, and the leading center in the world for robotic laparoscopic surgery for urologic cancers. While at the City of Hope, Dr. Yew was involved in the surgical treatment and compassionate care of many patients with advanced urologic malignancies, including: prostate, bladder, kidney, and testicular cancers. Dr. Yew believes that in many cases, less-invasive alternatives exist that can be done safely with equal efficacy and chances for cure. Dr. Yew strives to treat his patient's maximally while minimizing any negative impact on their quality-of-life. In addition to monitoring cancer cure, Dr. Yew also uses scientifically validated Quality-of-Life surveys to assess the impact of his treatments on his patients' daily lives.
Dr. Yew's clinical and research interests have been in developing non-invasive ways to cool the kidney internally to allow safe laparoscopic and robotic removal of only part of the kidney for small tumors, thus saving and preserving surrounding vital normal kidney tissue. He is also interested in tracking clinical, oncologic, and Quality-of-Life outcomes in patients undergoing minimally-invasive urologic surgery. Dr. Yew has been invited to present his work at prestigious urologic conferences around the world. He has authored two textbook chapters on robotic surgery and has created many instructional surgical videos. Dr. Yew developed the On-Q Pain Pump Guidelines for use in open prostate cancer surgery, and he continues to be active in teaching and consulting, and in the development of various medical devices for use in minimally-invasive laparoscopic/robotic surgery.
Dr. Yew is a certified surgical instructor (proctor) for Intuitive Surgical, the manufacturer of the DaVinci Surgical System. Since 2005, Dr. Yew has proctored and helped establish robotic urologic surgery programs at the following hospitals:
| University of Southern California University Hospital | Los Angeles, CA |
| St. Joseph Hospital | Orange, CA |
| Huntington Memorial Hospital | Pasadena, CA |
| Pomona Valley Medical Center | Pomona, CA |
| Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital | Santa Barbara, CA |
| Sharp Memorial Hospital | San Diego, CA |
| Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center | Burbank, CA |
| Torrance Memorial Hospital | Torrance, CA |
| Kaiser Permanente WLA Medical Center | Los Angeles, CA |