Why I Founded Austin Urology Institute

People ask me all the time, “Why in the heck did you choose urology?!?”

I’ve got several funny answers to that question, but it all started back at Boston University School of Medicine, where I was trying to decide between going into medicine or surgery. After rotating through several specialties, I decided that I was a surgeon at heart. I then began to rotate through several surgical fields, getting a feel for which one I’d like to make my life’s work.

As often happens in life, fate intervenes, and I got my seventh choice in urologic surgery. It was there that I had the great fortune to meet and work with Dr. Irwin Goldstein, who was and continues to be a pioneer in erectile dysfunction work.

After graduating from medical school, I was one of approximately 150 students that successfully matched in the graduate urology residency program. At that time, it was called “Match Day” and was a major event. We all gathered in a room and got an envelope that told us where we would spend the next several years doing residency work.

My envelope said that I was headed to the bayou, New Orleans, at the Tulane University School of Medicine, in the department of surgery and urology. I spent the next six years learning and loving urology. It was a Tulane that I discovered my love of minimally invasive cancer, laparoscopic, and robotic techniques.

Upon graduating, I moved back to Texas, where my family is from. I had the great fortune to meet my wonderful wife and we’ve subsequently begun the journey of raising our two lovely children.

My first job was in a large, multi-specialty clinic, composed of several hundred doctors. At this busy clinic, I was able to hone my skills as a newly minted surgeon. There were several advantages to being in such a large organization, but ultimately my independent spirit called. After six years there, I decided it was time to spread my wings and do things my way. I wanted to start a urology practice the was centered around personalized attention to our patients, hospitality and a friendly attitude and the latest surgical techniques that would rival cutting-edge academic institutions.

It was from this dream that Austin Urology Institute was born.

As we enter our sixth year in a specialty practice, my practice partner and I have seen more than 17,000 patients with some of the best patient satisfaction ratings in Texas and beyond. A major factor in our success is that we bring a high level of care to patients in a small group format with the latest surgical techniques. This combination of people-focused care and leading-edge techniques helps us produce optimal patient outcomes in a friendly setting where we’re not constrained by the challenges that physicians often face in large group practices.

It is with great pride that we invite you to experience the great care, warm hospitality and precision techniques that we offer you at the Austin Urology Institute.