Florida Hospital Celebration Surgeon Wins International Award

Florida Hospital Celebration Health Surgeon Receives International Award

CELEBRATION, Fla., Dec. 28, 2007 - Gary Onik, MD, director of Florida Hospital Celebration Health's prostate cancer research program, has been awarded the Gold Award by the International Society of Cryosurgery.  The Gold Award is the highest honor of the International Society of Cryosurgery and was presented to Dr. Onik at the World Congress of Cryosurgery in Beijing, China for his lifetime career achievement in the field of cryosurgery.

Cryotherapy, a method based on the cytotoxic effects of cold, consists of the therapeutic application of extremely low temperatures to living tissue in order to destroy it. It represents a minimally invasive surgical technique that has expanded in applicability in recent years, in part because of the development of new and improved equipment. Cryosurgery has a wide range of clinical applications including dermatology, gynecology, urology, neurology, pulmonary medicine, cardiology, oncology and many others.  The International Society of Cryosurgery (I.S.C.) was founded in 1974 to promote continuing medical education in the field of cryosurgery from an experimental and clinical point of view. 

Dr. Onik received his bachelor's degree from Harvard College and his degree of medicine from New York Medical College. He completed a radiology residency at the University of California at San Francisco and a fellowship in Ultrasound and Interventional Radiology Research at New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He has been a Damon Runyan-Walter Winchell Cancer Fund fellow as well as a  National Cancer Institute fellow.  Dr. Onik has more than 20 years of experience in performing cryosurgery and is the inventor and pioneer of ultrasound-guided cryosurgery for the prostate, kidney and liver. He is the two-time president of the American College of Cryosurgery and has authored several books and many articles on the subject of oncology.

Dr. Onik performed the first ultrasound-guided prostate cryosurgery more than 17 years ago, and is the recognized leader in developing the techniques and instrumentation that have been integral to the minimally invasive treatment of cancer. He has won multiple awards for his pioneering work in oncology, and most recently won the 2004 prize for best research paper given by the Society of Uroradiology for his research and techniques pertaining to "The Male Lumpectomy" for treating prostate cancer. Actively engaged in many improvements in the care of prostate cancer patients, Dr. Onik maintains ongoing research collaborations with leading centers in the field of prostate cancer including Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Virginia, and the National Cancer Institute.

Florida Hospital Celebration Health is a cutting-edge destination hospital that specializes in minimally invasive surgical procedures.  This health and wellness center provides inpatient and outpatient services, 24-hour emergency care, maternity, cardiac services, diagnostic, catheterization, wellness programs, women's and men's health programs, as well as primary care and specialty physicians on-site.

For more information, contact Florida Hospital Media Relations at 407-303-8217.

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