Dr. Banerji’s Story

I treat my patients like I treat my family.

When John Banerji, MD, was growing up in India, his mother had a dream that he would become a physician and practice in the United States. In a household where his father was a chemical engineer and his mother a psychology professor, the bar was set high for his future.

Dr. Banerji attended Christian Medical College in Vellore, India where he also completed an internship in general surgery as well as residencies in general surgery and urology. He came to the United States as an exchange student. The American Urology Association grants two scholarships to students from India and he was one of 5,000 applicants. He stood out among the others and received one of the scholarships.

While he began his career at a larger metropolitan health system, he joined the staff of Penn Highlands Healthcare in 2019 because it offered him the opportunity to grow the health system’s urology program.

“I was amazed to see such a large hospital (Penn Highlands DuBois) in such a small community,” said Dr. Banerji. “Plus, Penn Highlands Healthcare is committed to using the latest technology and providing a high level of care so that people do not need to travel far away for their health care.”

At a hospital on the west coast where Dr. Banerji did his fellowship, he trained using the da Vinci robot for surgical procedures. He was delighted when Penn Highlands Healthcare purchased the da Vinci Xi robot to assist with minimally invasive surgeries at Penn Highlands DuBois.

“The da Vinci Xi is very versatile for delicate and complex surgeries because it allows surgeons to operate with enhanced precision, dexterity and control,” explained Dr. Banerji.

Today, the robot is used for 90% of the urology surgeries performed at Penn Highlands DuBois. In 2021, Dr. Banerji performed the first surgery for prostate cancer using the da Vinci Xi.

“With the da Vinci, we can provide the quality of care that people find at the larger health centers and that is important to me because I treat all of my patients as I would treat a family member,” said Dr. Banerji.