Dr. Abaza's Honors and Awards

 As an internationally-recognized expert in robotic surgery, Dr. Abaza has been honored by awards from state, regional, national, and international organizations. He also has received the "Best Doctor" award every year since 2011, which is based upon nominations from other doctors. 

• 2024 Newsweek “America's Best Prostate Cancer Surgeons” (Top 150 in U.S.)
• 2024 U.S. News & World Report Patients' top choice award
• 2024 Columbus Monthly Top Doctors in Columbus and Central Ohio
• 2024 AUA North Central Section Dr. Edwin L. Thirlby Award for “Pathologic Outcomes of Active Surveillance Candidates Electing Surgery in a Contemporary Series”
• 2024  Avant-garde Health Healthcare Research All-stars (Top 3% of Urology Research) 
• 2024 Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors 
• 2023 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2023 Columbus Monthly Top Doctors in Columbus and Central Ohio
• 2023 Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors 
• 2022 AUA North Central Section Service Award
• 2022 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2022 AUA North Central Section Dr. Edwin L. Thirlby Award for “Early Results of Robotic Urologic Surgery at a Single Specialty Ambulatory Surgery Center”
• 2021 AUA North Central Section Dr. Edwin L. Thirlby Award for “Narcotic Avoidance After Robotic Radical Cystectomy Allows Routine of Only Two-Day Hospital Stay”
• 2021 Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors
• 2021 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2020 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2020 Columbus Monthly Top Doctors in Columbus and Central Ohio
• 2019 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2019 AUA North Central Section Dr. Edwin L. Thirlby Award for “Impact of Median Lobes on Urinary Function after Robotic Radical Prostatectomy”
• 2018 AUA North Central Section Dr. Edwin L. Thirlby Award for “Success Rate and Safety of Offering Same-Day Discharge Following Robotic Prostatectomy”
• 2018 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2018 Columbus Monthly Top Doctors in Columbus and Central Ohio
• 2018 Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors
• 2018 Selected for Marquis “Who’s Who in the World”
• 2018 Selected for Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2017 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2017 Columbus Monthly Top Doctors in Central Ohio
• 2017 Third Place Video Award, North American Robotic Urology Symposium (Las Vegas, NV)
• 2017 Co-Author, Best Laparoscopy/Robotic Paper, World Congress of Endourology (Vancouver, Canada)
• 2016 University of Toledo College of Medicine 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award
• 2016 Columbus Monthly Top Doctors in Central Ohio
• 2016 Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors
• 2016 OhioHealth Prism Award for Integrity
• 2016 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2015 Certified physician, MD Anderson Cancer Network
• 2015 Columbus Monthly Top Doctors in Central Ohio
• 2015 Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors
• 2015 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2014 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2014 OhioHealth System Prism Award for Excellence
• 2014 Selected for American Urological Association International Academy Accredited Faculty
• 2014 Second Prize, Best Videos, American Urological Association Annual Meeting (Orlando, FL)
• 2014 First Place, Robotics/Laparoscopy Poster Session, North Central Section AUA (Chicago, IL)
• 2014 OhioHealth Prism Award Nominee for Excellence and Compassion categories
• 2014 Selected for “America’s Top Surgeons” by Consumers’ Research Council of America
• 2014 Best Poster, “Robotic kidney transplantation with regional hypothermia: Evolution of a novel procedure utilizing the IDEAL guidelines (IDEAL Phase 0 and 1),” 29th Annual European Association of Urology Congress (Stockholm, Sweden)
• 2013 Columbus “Forty Under 40” Award, Columbus Business First
• 2013 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2013 Third Prize, Ohio Urological Society Annual Resident Research Forum (Principal Investigator)
• 2013 Research Presentations featured as a Take Home Message at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting (Robotic Prostatectomy in the Obese and Morbidly Obese: Must we Delay or Deny?” and “ICG Dosing Strategy to Optimize Near Infrared Fluorescence Tumor Localization during Robotic Partial Nephrectomy”)
• 2012 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2011 Selected through peer nomination for “Best Doctors in America” (Best Doctors, Inc.)
• 2011 Best Urology Paper, 20thAnniversary Annual Meeting, Society of  Laparoendoscopic Surgeons
• 2011 First Honorable Mention, Best Videos, Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association (Washington, D.C.)
• 2011 First Prize and Second Prize Overall, OhioUrological Society Annual Resident Research Forum (Principal Investigator)
• 2011 Research Presentation featured as a Take Home Message at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting (“Quality of Lymphadenectomy is Equivalent in Robotic and Open Cystectomy Using an Extended Template”)
• 2011 First author of work featured as cover of Journal of Endourology, July issue
• 2011 First author of work featured as cover of European Urology, April issue
• 2010 OSU Medical Center Outstanding Achievement in Patient Service 2010
• 2010 Best Video, American Urologic Association North Central Section Annual Meeting
• 2010 Research Presentation selected Highlight of the 28th World Congress of Endourology
• 2010 Research Presentation featured as a Take Home Message at the American Urological Association Annual Meeting (“Results of Limited and Extended Robotic Lymphadenectomy for Prostate Cancer”)
• 2009 Distinguished Robotic Surgeon Award: Pioneer of da Vinci Urologic Surgery, Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
• 2009 Best Urology Poster and Best Overall Poster Awards, Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons Annual Meeting, “Robotic Extended Pelvic Lymphadenectomy for Bladder Cancer: Initial Experience with Greater Nodal Yield”
• 2009 First author of work featured as cover of Urology, March issue
• 2009 Elected to Fellowship, American College of Surgeons
• 2009 First Prize Overall, Ohio Urological Society Annual Resident Research Forum (Principal Investigator)
• 2009 Selected for Marquis “Who’s Who in America”
• 2008  Board Certified, American Board of Urology
• 2008 Selected for “America’s Top Urologists” by Consumers’ Research Council of America
• 2008 Best Urology Poster and Best Overall Poster Awards, Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons Annual Meeting, “Prediction and Implementation Strategies in Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgical Education”
• 2007  Distinguished Medical Researcher Award of St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center
• 2006 First Prize Overall, Ohio Urological Society Annual Resident Research Forum
• 2006 First Prize Overall, Toledo Surgical Society Annual Resident Research Forum
• 2006 Distinguished Medical Researcher Award of St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center
• 2006 Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster, St Vincent Mercy Medical Center Research Symposium
• 2005 Traveling Scholar of the American Urological Association North Central Section
• 2005 Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons Outstanding Laparoendoscopic Resident Award
• 2005 American Urological Association Praecis Gerald P. Murphy Scholar
• 2005 First Prize Overall, OhioUrological Society Annual Resident Research Forum
• 2005 First Prize Overall, ToledoSurgical Society Annual Resident Research Forum
• 2004 First Prize Overall, Ohio Urological Society Annual Resident Research Forum
• 2004  First Prize Overall, Toledo Surgical Society Annual Resident Research Forum
• 2003 First Prize (Clinical Category), OhioUrological Society Annual Resident Research Forum
• 2003  First Prize (Clinical Category), Toledo Surgical Society Annual Resident Research Forum
• 1999 Nominated to Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society
• 1995 Highest Honors for Thesis, University of Michigan, Department of Economics
• 1995 Sims Honor Scholarship in Economics
• 1995 Phi Kappa Phi
• 1995 Phi Beta Kappa
• 1995 Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Honor Society
• 1994 Golden Key National Honor Society
• 1994 Sophomore Honors Award
• 1993-96 James B. Angell Scholar (3/94, 3/95, 3/96)
• 1993-96 Class Honors (3/93, 3/94, 3/95, 3/96)
• 1993 William J. Branstrom Freshman Prize
• 1992 Head of Class Award, Maumee Valley Country Day School
• 1992 Cum Laude Society