|
|
|
PITTSBURG —
The sands of Egypt and the Kansas prairie are worlds apart, but Dr. Talaat Yaghmour has found Pittsburg to be a good fit for his medical career and his family.
“I’m Egyptian by birth, and American by choice,” he said.
Now, after 41 years of practice, the urologist has announced his retirement.
“I had hoped to bring in another urologist so there could be a good transition, but there is a big shortage of urologists and there was no one available,” he said. “There are only 8,500 urologists in the United States, which has a population of 330 million. Many of these are people over 65, which is basically who I see.”
Yaghmour was educated in Jesuit schools from kindergarten to 12th grades, and fondly recalls those years when Christians, Jews, Muslims and those of other religions lived together in peace and friendship in Egypt.
“The last time we were in Egypt was 2008,” he said. “It’s very sad now, and we are praying that it will turn out all right.”
A fellow of the American College of Surgeons and certified by the American Board of Urology, Yaghmour attended Abbasia Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University, Cairo, graduating in 1964.
“I had one year of rotating internship in Egypt, then came to the United States in 1966,” he said. “I had another year of rotating internship at Newburgh, N.Y., then training at Dwight D. Eisenhower Veterans Administration Medical Center at Leavenworth, then was at the University of Missouri at Kansas City from 1968 to 1972.”
It was during his training in Newburgh, he said, that he met a urologist, also originally from Egypt, who had trained in France, and decided this was the specialty for him.
“He showed me what he did,” Yaghmour said. “You do a lot of diagnostic work before you operate, and I liked that. You know what you’re doing before you plunge in.”
He visited Pittsburg in 1972, and liked what he saw.
“The hospital had been built in 1971 and they had a special room for urology,” Yaghmour said. “There was a big need for urology here. People were very nice.”
He and his wife, Marie, were also very pleased to find that Our Lady of Lourdes Parish operated a parochial school system.
The couple has three children. Son Edward is now an anesthesiologist at Northwestern and lives in the Chicago area, while son George, Pittsburg, is employed by LEGO Education at Pitsco. Daughter Veronica lives with her husband and children in Overland Park.
Over the years of his practice, Yaghmour has seen many changes and advances in treatments.
“There has been an explosion of technology,” he said. “In 1999 I introduced brachytherapy in this area.”
He explained that this involves placing radioactive “seeds” as a treatment for prostate cancer.
“We can do this rather than perform a difficult surgery,” he said. “Also, in the treatment of stone disease, we can use a machine to shatter the stone now rather than having to cut the patient.”
Yagmour has been gratified to be able to bring these advances to his patients.
He admits that retiring is bittersweet, but wants to be able to travel, spend more time with his eight grandchildren and do some things he’s been wanting to do.
“We’re planning a trip to Turkey now,” he said.
For the time being, he and his wife plan to remain in the community. Mrs. Yaghmour has been very active in the Via Christi Auxiliary, though she has taken some time off while recuperating from an illness.
Her husband has served on the Mount Carmel Foundation Board of Directors and the Colonial Fox Foundation Board of Trustees.
“It’s been a very fulfilling practice,” Yaghmour said. “It has been great, and I’m very grateful to my patients, the hospital and my colleagues. I’ve also had a great staff who accommodated my patients and always had comnpassion for them. I’m very proud of the hospital we have here.”
He also takes pride in the community that has become his home.
“I’m proud of Pittsburg,” Yaghmour said. “Some say that Pittsburg is a retirement town, but there are also a lot of young couples moving in. I believe the town is not stagnant, but is moving forward.”
The sands of Egypt and the Kansas prairie are worlds apart, but Dr. Talaat Yaghmour has found Pittsburg to be a good fit for his medical career and his family.
“I’m Egyptian by birth, and American by choice,” he said.
Now, after 41 years of practice, the urologist has announced his retirement.
“I had hoped to bring in another urologist so there could be a good transition, but there is a big shortage of urologists and there was no one available,” he said. “There are only 8,500 urologists in the United States, which has a population of 330 million. Many of these are people over 65, which is basically who I see.”
Yaghmour was educated in Jesuit schools from kindergarten to 12th grades, and fondly recalls those years when Christians, Jews, Muslims and those of other religions lived together in peace and friendship in Egypt.
“The last time we were in Egypt was 2008,” he said. “It’s very sad now, and we are praying that it will turn out all right.”
A fellow of the American College of Surgeons and certified by the American Board of Urology, Yaghmour attended Abbasia Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University, Cairo, graduating in 1964.
“I had one year of rotating internship in Egypt, then came to the United States in 1966,” he said. “I had another year of rotating internship at Newburgh, N.Y., then training at Dwight D. Eisenhower Veterans Administration Medical Center at Leavenworth, then was at the University of Missouri at Kansas City from 1968 to 1972.”
It was during his training in Newburgh, he said, that he met a urologist, also originally from Egypt, who had trained in France, and decided this was the specialty for him.
“He showed me what he did,” Yaghmour said. “You do a lot of diagnostic work before you operate, and I liked that. You know what you’re doing before you plunge in.”
He visited Pittsburg in 1972, and liked what he saw.
“The hospital had been built in 1971 and they had a special room for urology,” Yaghmour said. “There was a big need for urology here. People were very nice.”
He and his wife, Marie, were also very pleased to find that Our Lady of Lourdes Parish operated a parochial school system.
The couple has three children. Son Edward is now an anesthesiologist at Northwestern and lives in the Chicago area, while son George, Pittsburg, is employed by LEGO Education at Pitsco. Daughter Veronica lives with her husband and children in Overland Park.
Over the years of his practice, Yaghmour has seen many changes and advances in treatments.
“There has been an explosion of technology,” he said. “In 1999 I introduced brachytherapy in this area.”
He explained that this involves placing radioactive “seeds” as a treatment for prostate cancer.
“We can do this rather than perform a difficult surgery,” he said. “Also, in the treatment of stone disease, we can use a machine to shatter the stone now rather than having to cut the patient.”
Yagmour has been gratified to be able to bring these advances to his patients.
He admits that retiring is bittersweet, but wants to be able to travel, spend more time with his eight grandchildren and do some things he’s been wanting to do.
“We’re planning a trip to Turkey now,” he said.
For the time being, he and his wife plan to remain in the community. Mrs. Yaghmour has been very active in the Via Christi Auxiliary, though she has taken some time off while recuperating from an illness.
Her husband has served on the Mount Carmel Foundation Board of Directors and the Colonial Fox Foundation Board of Trustees.
“It’s been a very fulfilling practice,” Yaghmour said. “It has been great, and I’m very grateful to my patients, the hospital and my colleagues. I’ve also had a great staff who accommodated my patients and always had comnpassion for them. I’m very proud of the hospital we have here.”
He also takes pride in the community that has become his home.
“I’m proud of Pittsburg,” Yaghmour said. “Some say that Pittsburg is a retirement town, but there are also a lot of young couples moving in. I believe the town is not stagnant, but is moving forward.”
