Dr. Miro Uchal
Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence, Director
Minimally Invasive Surgical Education, Director
Dr Miro Uchal is the Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital. Through the implementation of state of the art techniques and equipment, Dr. Uchal has been instrumental in both developing and advancing the performance of progressive minimally invasive surgical techniques- techniques that have significantly decreased patients post-operative pain, minimized incision size, limited side effects, and provided for shorter recovery times.
Dr. Uchal is responsible for expanding the robotic surgery practice at Allegheny General Hospital to include minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery of the stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colon, adrenal gland, gall bladder and kidney. By employing a state of the art robotic platform, Dr. Uchal and other surgeons will soon be able to perform even the most complex and delicate procedures through very small incisions with unmatched precision.
Born and raised in the Slovak Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia), Dr, Uchal attended the prestigious University of P.J. Safarik in Kosice, receiving his medical degree in 1986. In 1995, he completed his advanced surgical training and was certified as an expert gastrointestinal and trauma surgeon, accomplished in performing orthopedic, vascular and neurosurgical interventions as well.
Fascinated by the applications afforded by the introduction of the laparoscopy, Dr. Uchal developed an interest in minimally invasive surgical techniques early in his career. Realizing that this emerging field was his true calling, he embraced it as his specialty and dedicated his practice to fostering innovation in minimally invasive surgical care, education and research. Considered one of the most progressive minimally invasive surgeons in Slovakia, Dr. Uchal created and trained his own minimally invasive surgical team, and in 1997 was promoted to Chairman of the General Surgery Department at Stara Lubovna District Hospital.
In 2001, wishing to further develop his skills and expertise in advanced laparoscopy, Dr. Uchal relocated to a teaching hospital in Norway at the Forde Health System where he led an international project addressing micrometastasis of colorectal cancer and laparoscopic hernia repair. Dr. Uchal also developed a model for teaching and evaluating laparoscopic procedures that is used to train surgeons. Moreover, he taught several courses in laparoscopy at the University of Bergen, and published in prestigious medical journals, where he reported on his extensive clinical research into minimally invasive surgery.
In 2003, Dr. Uchal was honored with a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery research at Allegheny General Hospital. After passing all qualifying exams required for foreign medical physicians, he then began his second surgical residency, this time in the United States. As Chief Resident, he was valued not only for his refined diagnostic judgment and expertise in advanced minimally invasive surgical techniques, but also for his caring bedside manner and an unwavering dedication to provide his patients and their families with expert, compassionate care. Not surprisingly, he was recruited by Allegheny General Hospital to become a formal fixture of the institution, and in July 2007 Dr. Uchal accepted a staff position as Attending Surgeon in the Bariatric Center of Surgical Excellence Program.
Dr. Uchal maintains one of the region’s most respected, progressive, and successful bariatric practices. In fact, their bariatric practice group performed the first gastric banding in the Western Pennsylvania as well as the first single-incision adjustable gastric banding procedure. Moreover, Allegheny General Hospital’s bariatric surgical program has been recognized as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and because of Dr. Uchal’s pioneering efforts with robotic surgery, will become one of the few centers to implement robotics in gastrointestinal and pancreatic laparoscopic surgeries.
As an attending surgeon in the bariatric practice group, Dr. Uchal is responsible for the training of surgical residents and strives to ensure that the highest level of clinical training in all aspects of innovative technology and procedures is provided. In order to maintain the highest standards, Dr. Uchal believes that a resident should already possess superb technical and procedural skills before being introduced to the operating room. As a result, he has developed a program of advanced teaching techniques that utilize a complement of structured "dry lab" simulators, including fully equipped laparoscopy towers where residents spend hours under supervision. Residents also have access to an animal laboratory where they train in surgical techniques, learn to minimize complication rates, and master their surgical skills.
He maintains several affiliations and memberships, including the Slovak Medical Chamber, Bratislava, Slovakia; European Association for Endoscopic Surgery; Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons; and SAGES, Los Angeles, California.
320 East North Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15212
Phone: (412) 359-8630