The Tribune

In what is believed to be a first, a Bahamian surgeon has been chosen to join the faculty of the Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute in the United States, a facility that is part of the award-winning Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

The honour is being bestowed upon Dr Darius Unwala, who will take leave from the Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctors Hospital, where he has served as a consultant urologist since 2011. He specialises in treating kidney and urology-related conditions, including sophisticated, minimally invasive laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr Unwala to the world-class faculty of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at Cleveland Clinic, which has been ranked as the No 1 or No 2 urology programme in the nation by US News and World Report every year since 2000,” said Dr Eric A Klein, chairman of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr Unwala has been sought after by some of the most prestigious hospitals in the United States over the past several years. In his post at the Glickman Institute he will spend part of his time at the main campus and part of his time developing and enhancing the urological programme of a regional hospital of the Cleveland Clinic.

In addition to his expertise in urological procedures, Dr Unwala is considered among the premier reviewers of the academic medical literature. He has written numerous editorials on a wide range of subjects in urology and was recently named a top reviewer for the Urology Gold Journal, a designation reserved for a select few.

According to a source close to Dr Unwala, the decision to take leave was a difficult one. “Darius has dedicated his academic career, his knowledge, his medical life to trying to find better ways to treat those who suffer from kidney and urology-related conditions,” the source said. “Given the extraordinary rate of diabetes in this country, the expense and nature of dialysis, he has always searched for a kinder, gentler way and perhaps his exposure to a facility that can afford the kind of equipment that is not available in a community as small as the Bahamas will strengthen his ability even more and allow him to return home with greater knowledge and some of the answers we all seek to deal with the scourge of kidney-related diseases.”

A graduate of the University of Manchester Medical School in the UK, Dr Unwala graduated with honours in all subject areas. He is a board-certified urologist in the United States, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Canada, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, a member of the Medical Association of the Bahamas and the Bahamas Medical Council. Dr. Unwala was recognised in the Bahamas “40 under 40” awards in 2013 and he was awarded the Bahamian Icon Award for his outstanding contributions to health in 2016.

He serves on the executive board of directors of the Cancer Society of the Bahamas and is a director and treasurer of the Brighter Bahamas Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to improving life, health and well-being through reading and wider availability of books for all.

Dr Unwala is married to Dr Rashmi Unwala, FAAD, consultant dermatologist and assistant professor at the Mayo Clinic. She has practiced at both Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctors Hospital for several years. Dr Rashmi Unwala will be taking up the post of Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Cleveland Clinic.

Both Drs Unwala will see their last patients at the end of this month and encourage all seeking records to contact their offices prior to December 31. They will take up residence in Ohio – in the midst of January and snow – with their three children, Nikhil, Yasmin and Cyrus.