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Raj & Padma Vattikuti, Drs. Mani and Shameem Menon Honored by HFHS
21 SEPTEMBER 2026
"Today is truly a historic day... to have the people here when our whole department was transformed... The Vattikuti and Menon families have come today, and we are here to honor them," remarked Dr. Craig Rogers, the current Chair, Henry Ford Department of Urology and Vattikuti Chair of Urologic Oncology, to honored guests, current staff and former colleagues of the Vattikuti Urology Institute (VUI), Department of Urology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. On Thursday, September 17th, 2026, many were gathered to celebrate their significant contributions to surgery and the Henry Ford Health System.
Dr. Rogers continued: "If you think of what transformed our department, the health system and the world of surgery in general, you have a full-circle moment. You have the Vattikuti family, who made a generous donation- and made a bet on - you know, a book I've been reading today (he holds up "The Surgeon's Machine,' by VF CEO Dr. Mahendra Bhandari and Siddharth Siva) -that goes through this whole story: an underdog, Dr. Menon, who had a vision to transform surgery, and that happened here, with their support"
His remarks came while the guests enjoyed an informal lunch hosted by the HFH Urology Department. Dr. Rogers then opened up the room to comments... Vice Chair of the VUI, Dr. Hans Stricker, an HFH Urologist doing open procedures during the time when the first robotic prostatectomies were underway, shared some of his early thoughts on Dr. Menon: "...and I knew I was with an innovator, because everything was different. He looked at the world a different way than the rest of us did... Some people would say: 'He's crazy,' but he's in the Smithsonian (Institution, the US national museum), and you're not!"
One of the Chief Residents at the VUI, Dr. Patrick Etta, wanted to pay tribute: "This is my fifth year, and I did not have the opportunity to have the pleasure to be trained formally by you, Dr. Menon, but certainly reaped the benefits of what you started here, and Mr. Vattikuti, all of your generosity to us. I think all the Residents here can say unanimously, how happy we are to train at a place like this. And when we go across to conferences and other places, and people hear we're from the Vattikuti Urology Institute, they recognize us..."
After about an hour of testimonials, Dr. Rogers invited the group to gather in the 9th floor lobby, where several items were revealed for all to see: a large video monitor with a running display of the history of the Urology Department and VUI, plus plaques and photographic portraits honoring Padma and Raj Vattikuti, plus Drs. Mani and Shameem Menon for their contributions to the Department.
Dr. Menon took time to tell everyone of some recent research, in which he had used the Artificial Intelligence 'Claude' to perform: "So I asked 'Claude,' "what is the most impactful donation in surgery over this century?" 'By practice-changing effect, the strongest case is the Vattikuti Foundation gift to Henry Ford in 2001'." Applause followed his reading of the AI's revelation.
We will have more on this ceremony in the days ahead, including video, once edited.