Dr. Raz honored by Latin American urology group

Congratulations to Shlomo Raz, MD, who has been honored by the Confederation Americano de Urologia (CAU) by naming its highest accolade in his honor and bestowing the first medal on him.

The Shlomo Raz Medal, a bronze medallion bearing his likeness, was awarded to Dr. Raz at the recent CAU congress in Lima, Peru.

For 2 decades, Dr. Raz made it a priority to help educate and better train urologists in Latin American and Mexico, a small undertaking with a few urologists that has since grown to include thousands of physicians.

Born in Uruguay, Dr. Raz said his efforts began as a way to give back to Latin America.

“I had a sort of guilty feeling about coming to the United States and practicing here, not taking back the knowledge I gained to my country,” said Dr. Raz, professor of urology and chief of the division of pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at UCLA. “I am very honored and proud to have this honor named after me and to be its first recipient.”

Twenty years ago, Dr. Raz created and hosted a small CAU clinical symposium for Spanish-speaking urologists attending the AUA annual meeting. Today, the conference showcases keynote lecturers from across academic urology in state-of-the-art updates on topics of interest to practicing urologists.

The goal is for the urologists to learn about new technologies and advanced urologic surgeries, Dr. Raz said, adding that other urology associations have copied his model and organizations now exist for Chinese, Portuguese, Arab, and French urologists.

 “Dr. Raz has spent decades creating and running seminars, meetings, and colloquia for urologists in Latin America and he has traveled widely through South and Central American to provide hands-on instruction in surgical techniques across the Spanish-speaking world,” said Mark Litwin, MD, chair of UCLA’s department of urology. “His efforts have surely resulted in better urologic care for tens of thousands of women.”

Dr. Raz has previously been honored with the Life Achievement Award of the Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine & Urogenital Reconstruction and the AUA’s John Lattimer Award, among others. He has been a member of the Urology Times Editorial Council for more than 25 years.

The Shlomo Raz Medal will be awarded annually to a deserving urologist who works to further the mission of the CAU.

To get weekly news from the leading news source for urologists, subscribe to the Urology Times eNews.