Meet Dr. Lotan

Yair Lotan, M.D., was born to be a physician: His parents are retired cancer researchers from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and both of his brothers are also doctors.

"With my parents both being scientists, I couldn’t help but be interested in science, too," he says.

A board-certified urologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Lotan uses minimally invasive, robotic, and open surgical techniques to treat bladder, prostate, kidney, ureteral, and testicular cancer. He was the first in North Texas to perform a robotic cystectomy, or removal of the bladder.  He also treats kidney stones endoscopically and percutaneously.

We routinely treat patients with advanced urologic cancers rather than just seeing one or two per year."

Professor of Urology, Chief of Urologic Oncology, and holder of the Helen J. and Robert S. Strauss Professorship in Urology at UT Southwestern, Dr. Lotan is also Medical Director of the Urology Clinic at Parkland Health and Hospital System. He is nationally recognized for his research on urine markers in bladder cancer and molecular markers in other urologic cancers.

"Molecular markers help us identify patients who are at a higher risk for recurrent cancer so we can recommend the appropriate treatment for them," he says. "And on the flip side, if their cancer is unlikely to recur, we can try to reduce the number of treatments so they don’t have as many side effects."

Dr. Lotan enjoys getting to know his patients and educating them so they can make informed decisions about their urologic care and procedures.

"Most of my patients are older than me, so I try to give them as much information as possible, especially patients with cancer," he says. "They want to know what they’re dealing with; they don’t want to be patronized." 

Clinical Interests/Specialties

General Urology

• Bladder cancer, masses, and tumors
• Prostate cancer
• Kidney cancer, masses, and tumors
• Hematuria
• Elevated PSA
• Kidney stones
• Transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) biopsy
• Vasectomies
• Ureteral cancer, masses, and tumors
• Testicular cancer, masses, and tumors
• Hydrocele
• Spermatocele
• Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction

Genitourinary Surgery

• Radical cystectomy (open and robotic)
• Robotic prostatectomy
• Laparoscopic nephrectomy
• Minimally invasive cancer surgery
• Kidney stone surgery
• Lithotripsy