Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov)
骨・軟部肉腫の第一人者 – メリムスキー教授はソウラスキー医療センターの肉腫部門を率いています。
Dr. Yuri Goldes is a general surgeon with more than 20 years of clinical experience. He specializes in upper gastrointestinal and oncologic surgery. He is Deputy Director of the Department of General Surgery and Transplantation at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv. He also leads the Upper GI Surgery Unit. He was named to Forbes Israel’s Best Doctors in 2025. He is ranked among Israel’s Best Gastrointestinal Surgeons by Forbes. In 2019, he received the Israeli Ministry of Health “Best Doctor of the Year” award.
He is an expert in advanced minimally invasive and robotic surgery. He treats diaphragmatic hernia, achalasia, GERD, and gallbladder disease. He also performs oncologic surgery for pancreatic, gastric, and esophageal cancers. He uses laparoscopic and robotic techniques.
He pioneered some of Israel’s first robotic oncologic resections of the stomach and pancreas. He is among a small group worldwide who perform minimally invasive Whipple procedures (pancreaticoduodenectomy) using advanced laparoscopy. He applies methods that improve outcomes and speed recovery. He provides personalized care.
Professor Raanan Berger, MD PhD, is a medical oncologist and radiotherapist. He is Director of the Cancer Center at Sheba Medical Center and heads its clinical research unit. He was listed in Forbes Israel’s “Best Doctors” (2025). He leads the genitourinary oncology program with a focus on prostate cancer. His care includes systemic therapy and radiotherapy in a multidisciplinary, patient-centered model.
He is board-certified in oncology. He earned his MD and PhD at Tel Aviv University and completed his clinical training at Sheba. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Dana-Farber/Harvard, focusing on prostate cancer with Dr. Philip Kantoff and molecular oncology in Dr. William C. Hahn’s lab. He is a member of ESMO and ASCO. He has co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed papers, including studies on outcomes in high- versus very high-risk prostate cancer and on BRCA1/2 in large cohorts.
Chordoma surgery in Israel involves neurological risks depending on tumor location and proximity to nerves. Skill base procedures may cause 15% neurological deficit rates, while sacral resections lead to urinary or bowel dysfunction in up to 81.5% of cases. Precision navigation and multidisciplinary teams help preserve critical functions.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Israeli oncology centers like Sourasky Medical Center report a 90% success rate in treating complex tumors. This high performance stems from huge surgical volumes, with Sourasky and Assuta together performing over 125,000 operations annually. Patients should note that such high-volume centers often provide more predictable functional outcomes due to their specialized neuro-oncology infrastructure.
Patient Consensus: Patients emphasize that sensory losses like tailbone numbness are significant daily challenges. Many note the importance of finding rehabilitation teams early to manage permanent nerve changes or feeding tube dependency.
Israeli surgeons perform high-volume chordoma resections at specialized centers like Sourasky Medical Center. Teams specialize in en bloc resection and minimally invasive transorbital approaches. Leading experts include Dr. Ofer Merimsky and Dr. Jakov Bikels. Facilities combine robotic platforms with real-time 3D navigation to preserve neurological function.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Israeli oncology centers demonstrate high expertise in rare bone tumors. Sourasky Medical Center alone treats over 1,800,000 patients annually and reports a 90% average success rate for oncology. This volume allows surgeons like Dr. Jakov Bikels to specialize deeply in metastatic bone lesions. Patients benefit from this concentration of rare case experience which is often unavailable in smaller medical systems.
Patient Consensus: Patients emphasize the need to confirm the use of intraoperative neuromonitoring and real-time imaging before surgery. They also note that centralizing care in specialized centers is more important than the specific city location.
Recovery after sacral chordoma surgery in Israel focuses on intensive rehabilitation to restore mobility and manage neurological shifts. Patients often spend 6 to 12 months in specialized therapy. Multidisciplinary teams prioritize nerve preservation and pelvic stability through physical and occupational therapy in JCI-accredited centers.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Israeli medical centers like Sourasky, which handles over 34,000 operations annually, integrate oncology and rehabilitation within a single facility. This structure allows surgeons like Dr. Jakov Bikels to coordinate directly with rehab specialists. Data suggests that patients benefit from these highly specialized orthopedic oncology units where therapists handle rare sacral tumors daily rather than general spinal cases.
Patient Consensus: Patients emphasize that sitting tolerance returns slowly and is often the final hurdle. Many note that preparing the home with elevated seating before surgery significantly reduces early recovery stress.
Full chordoma treatment in Israel typically requires a 21 to 30 day stay. This timeline covers pre-operative staging, specialized neurosurgery, and critical early follow-up. Most patients spend 7 to 10 days hospitalized. You must remain in-country for 14 days post-discharge to manage flight safety.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Israeli oncology centers like Sourasky Medical Center report a 90% success rate. High-volume centers perform 34,000 operations annually, ensuring surgical teams are highly practiced. Choosing a facility with JCI accreditation and Newsweek rankings provides a verified safety framework for complex bone tumors. This volume-to-outcome correlation is a key quality indicator in Tel Aviv clinics.
Patient Consensus: Patients emphasize planning for at least 4 to 6 weeks total. They note that rushing recovery or flying too early can lead to complications or travel discomfort.
Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and Sheba Medical Center are the primary Israeli hospitals for high-volume chordoma treatment. These JCI-accredited institutions manage complex spine and skull base cases. They combine advanced neurosurgery with MRI-guided radiation therapy to ensure high success rates.
Bookimed Expert Insight: While Sheba and Sourasky are public giants, Assuta Medical Center offers a private alternative. It performs 92,000 annual operations with higher personalized care. Patients often choose Assuta when they want to select their specific surgeon manually. This flexibility is rare in larger state hospitals where teams are assigned.
Patient Consensus: Patients note that Israeli centers offer more affordable advanced radiation than US hospitals. Many recommend bringing a translator or using apps to navigate consultations smoothly.
Eligibility for surgery in Israel depends on administrative status and clinical readiness determined by a multi-disciplinary assessment. Foreign patients must obtain a formal hospital invitation and secure a visa. Clinical criteria focus on tumor resectability, preoperative risk scoring, and mandatory informed consent from the patient.
Bookimed Expert Insight: Data from top Tel Aviv facilities like Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) shows that eligibility for complex bone and soft tissue cases often depends on a surgeon's specific volume of experience. Prof. Dr. Ofer Merimsky and other specialists at large multidisciplinary centers may accept complex cases that smaller hospitals reclassify as high-risk. While public systems have rigid waitlists, private clinics like Assuta Medical Center, which performs 92,000 operations annually, often provide faster clinical eligibility decisions for international self-pay patients.
Patient Consensus: Patients note that eligibility often depends more on the tumor size and location than on strict age limits. Many emphasize that securing a surgeon's referral at a high-volume center is the fastest way to confirm clinical approval.