Message from the Chair

Message from the Chair

The nautilus and its nearly perfectly proportioned spirals symbolize the internal harmony of nature. Its lifelong protection, expansion and renewal through the formation of new shell chambers parallels the work of our talented physicians and staff at the University of California, Irvine's Department of Urology.

While our bodies usually reflect nature’s quest for internal harmony, sometimes things go very wrong. When that happens, we are always here to provide Orange County and surrounding communities with the absolute best in modern urological care. Our Center offers the largest number of fellowship-trained physicians of any urology practice in Orange County. We also seek to provide UC Irvine’s medical residents with superb educational experiences, and its physicians with every opportunity to provide the best clinical care and pursue groundbreaking research for new solutions to health challenges. Just as the nautilus shows its cycles of change and improvement, our clinical work, education and research efforts seek to parallel this ever-expanding cycle of excellence.

Minimally invasive techniques, many of which were created by our faculty, have greatly reduced postoperative pain and recovery time. Nearly all kidney and ureter surgery at UC Irvine Medical Center is now performed with techniques that replace large surgical scars with tiny incisions, replace blood loss with minimum impact, and in some cases, replace operating rooms with outpatient procedures at our Center for Urological Care.

Patients visiting our Center are cared for by a caring, interdisciplinary team of nurses, technicians and physicians who perform the latest in testing and outpatient treatments in our newly opened, state-of-the-art center. For more complex procedures, we regularly use advanced surgical technology, such as laparoscopic surgery assisted by the da Vinci robot. We were the first to introduce these techniques to Orange County; now they are becoming the standard for modern surgeons worldwide. We offer services for childhood disorders and birth defects, kidney stones, irritable bladder and incontinence, fertility, female urological issues, and for cancers of the kidney, prostate and other urological organs.

We wish you and your family good health and are ever ready to offer our services to you.

Sincerely,

Ralph V. Clayman, M.D.
Chairman, UC Irvine Department of Urology