Oprah Winfrey to say goodbye to Dr. Oz

[May 12, 2009]  CHICAGO (AP) -- Oprah Winfrey's in-house medical and health expert is leaving his spot as a regular on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for his own syndicated program.

Winfrey will bid Dr. Mehmet Oz farewell on Tuesday's episode of her talk show. His program, "The Dr. Oz Show," is to debut Sept. 14.

Oz has been featured on Winfrey's show for five years and 55 episodes. He would often offer diet tips or discuss life-threatening diseases.

Tuesday's show ends with Oz and Winfrey raising a champagne toast.

According to Oz's biography on Oprah.com, the best-selling author and heart surgeon is a surgery professor at Columbia University and directs the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

[Associated Press]

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