Michael A Palese, MD

Dr. Michael A. Palese is  Chair, Department of Urology, Mount Sinai Downtown- Union Square and  Professor, Department of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He is also the Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery of the Mount Sinai Health System and specializes in robotic, laparoscopic and endoscopic surgery.  

As a board certified urologist and fellowship trained surgeon, he specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney, ureter, adrenal, bladder and prostate disease with a special emphasis on robotic surgeries relating to kidney cancer.

Dr. Palese is a leading authority in the research and treatment of kidney disease specifically kidney cancer and kidney stones.  He is one of a handful of surgeons in the United States who is trained in open, laparoscopic and robotic surgery.  To date he has performed over 3000 open, laparoscopic and robotic kidney procedures. 

Dr. Palese is a world recognized surgeon and scholar who is also a leader in the development of new treatments and technologies.  He performed the first robotic radical nephrectomy, robotic partial nephrectomy, robotic donor nephrectomy, robotic nephroureterectomy, robotic adrenalectomy, and robotic ureteral reimplant & reconstruction at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.  He holds several patents for the design of novel surgical devices.

Dr. Palese is the author of multiple book chapters and more than one hundred articles and abstracts.  He is on the Medical Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation of Greater New York and is a reviewer and consultant for the periodicals of the Journal of Urology, Urology, Urologic Oncology and Journal of Endourology .  He is an Editor for the Urologic Oncology (Journal): Seminars and Original Investigations in the section of New Technologies.  He is on the steering committee for the Initiative on Kidney Cancer sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation.  He also serves on the Medical Advisory Board to the New York Giants.  He is a member of multiple organizations including the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Urological Association (AUA), the New York Section of the American Urological Association and the Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons (SLS).

Dr. Palese frequently lectures and presents his clinical research at national and international medical conferences.  As a Visiting Professor he has performed live surgery and given clinical talks all over the United States, Austria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates.  He teaches and mentors college students, medical students, residents and fellows.  He is a course director and faculty member for several educational courses to teach urologists and other physicians.  In particular he is a faculty member for the annual Basic Laparoscopy Course sponsored by the American Urological Association in Houston, Texas.  He has been a guest faculty member for Laparoscopy Courses in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  He has also been the Course Director for several robotic surgery and advanced prostate courses
& workshops held at Mount Sinai.  He has been featured in the news media on multiple occasions including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, CBS, CNN and WPIX TV.

Dr. Palese is included in the Castle Connolly Medical LTD America’s Top Doctors and Top Doctors for Cancer edition, The New York Times published Superdoctors and the New York Magazine’s annual Top Doctors issue.

Dr. Palese graduated from Cornell University in 1993 with a double major degree as well as a minor degree in Human Biology.  He received his medical degree (M.D.) from The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1997.   He completed his general surgery and urology residency at the University of Maryland Medical Center as well as performed research at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.  He finished a fellowship in robotic and laparoscopic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University in 2004.

In 2004, Dr. Palese joined the Mount Sinai Medical Center where he established the robot surgery program for the Department of Urology.  He also served as the Chief of Urology at the North General Hospital in New York City from 2004-2008.

He is seeing patients at 5 E. 98th St – 6th floor and 625 Madison Ave – 2nd Floor.

Video: http://www.businessinsider.com/video-robotic-surgery-2012-8

Patient Stories:

https://www.mountsinai.org/about/patient-stories/expert-surgeon-dr-palese-saved-my-kidney

https://www.mountsinai.org/about/patient-stories/i-owe-my-life-to-da-vinci-and-mount-sinai