Dr. Vishal Choksi

A product of the prestigious Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, which is regarded internationally as the Mecca of cancer treatment, Dr. Vishal Choksi is the only surgeon in India trained in an American Head and Neck Society fellowship at MSKCC under Dr. Jatin Shah for two and half years.

Earlier, Dr. Choksi received training for five years at the renowned Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York and acquired certification as a General Surgeon from the American Board of Surgeons. He is only one of a few surgeons in India to have this distinguished certification.

Full Biography

Dr. Vishal Choksi is an example of a new generation of surgical oncologists who represent a unique blend of global standards with Indian insights. A product of the prestigious Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York, which is regarded internationally as the Mecca of cancer treatment, Dr. Vishal Choksi is the only surgeon in India trained in a two-and-half-year American Head and Neck Cancer Society Fellowship at MSKCC under Dr. Jatin Shah.

Previously, Dr. Choksi received training for five years at the renowned Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York under Dr. Joseph Cunningham Jr, one of the titans of surgery in New York. He acquired certification as a General Surgeon from the American Board of Surgeons. Dr. Vishal Choksi chose to bring the benefits of his impeccable international credentials and expertise in head and neck surgery to India. He was instrumental in developing the Head and Neck Cancer Surgery Department at Apollo Hospitals in Ahmedabad. As the founder, he has created the Department into an important hub of head and neck cancer treatment in Ahmedabad.

After 11 years of exclusive practice in H&N cancer surgery in Ahmedabad, Dr. Choksi realized the need of the hour was to have a center dedicated to H&N cancers. With this focus, he founded Northwest Cancer Hospital (NCH), India’s first H&N cancer hospital. With the establishment of NCH, patients have comprehensive H&N cancer services under one roof.

His extensive activity involving a wide variety of head and neck cancers includes areas of special interest such as skull base cancers, oral cancers, thyroid diseases, and minimally invasive procedures. He continues to explore new frontiers of knowledge in these areas by way of presenting papers at national and international seminars and conferences. He continues to upgrade his scientific knowledge through special courses and workshops, such as receiving additional training in MIVATS – Minimally Invasive Video-Assisted Thyroid Surgery at the University of Pisa, Italy, and Endoscopic Laser Surgery at the European Institute of Oncology, Italy, as well as TOETVA (Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Vestibular Approach) training from Bangkok, Thailand.

Dr. Choksi began to explore the nexus between tobacco and oral cancers during his Head and Neck Cancer training at Memorial Sloan Kettering where he was awarded the prestigious T32 Training Grant by the National Institute of Health (USA) to study the molecular cell signaling related to tobacco and carcinogens. Over the years, he has broadened his focus to clinical research and the societal implications of head and neck cancers at large. Dr. Choksi has also continued his academic endeavors by training new H&N surgeons every year, who have all gone on to practice at prestigious hospitals in the country. The FHNO (Federation of Head and Neck Oncology) fellowship at Apollo-CBCC was conducted under his mentorship.

Today, Dr. Choksi has a truly international patient base that extends to more than 12 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.

Education & Training

• M.B.B.S. – Pramukhswami Medical College, Sardar Patel University (1993-1999)
• Diplomate of American Board of Surgery – 2006
• American Head and Neck Society Fellowship at MSKCC, NY (2006-2008)

Surgical Training and Experience

• Surgical Intern, Northshore University Hospital, Long Island, New York (2000-2001)
• Surgical Resident, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York (2001-2005)
• Chief Surgical Resident, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York (2005-2006)
• Post-doctoral Fellow, Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York (2006-2007)
• Clinical Instructor in Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York (2007-2008)
• Clinical Fellow, Division of Head and Neck Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York (2006-2008)
• Chief, Head and Neck Surgery, Apollo Hospital, Ahmedabad (2011-March 2015)
• Director, Head and Neck Cancer Surgery, Apollo CBCC Cancer Center, Ahmedabad (April 2015 to March 2022)
• Founder and Director, Northwest Cancer Hospital (March 2022 to present)