Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
General Information
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology provides consultation, comprehensive treatment planning, and a broad range of services for patients with normal and high-risk pregnancies or gynecologic problems, including oncology and reproductive endocrinology (infertility). The gynecologic oncology program is an integral part of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa.
The department provides services through the following divisions and units:
Information and referrals
For consultation or referral, or to obtain information on patients, please call UI Consult toll-free at 1-800-322-8442.
Consultations are enhanced by mailing or faxing pertinent clinical information in advance, if possible. If you write to division faculty or send patient information, please use the addresses listed for each division.
Department and division addressed correspondence can be directed to:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
200 Hawkins Drive
Iowa City, IA 52242-1009
Department fax: 319-356-3901 (monitored weekdays)
Department Head
Kimberly Leslie, MD
319-356-1976
kimberly-leslie@uiowa.edu
Divisions and Units
Assisted Reproductive Technologies Laboratory
Laboratory director: Amy Sparks, PhD
Provides full support to infertile couples and assays to aid in the evaluation of infertility, including:
- Semen analysis
- Serum, semen, and mucus testing for anti-sperm antibodies
- Strict sperm morphology assays
Center for Advanced Reproductive Care
Center director: Bradley J. Van Voorhis, MD
Offers an innovative and active program of advanced treatment to assist infertile couples. Techniques include:
- Assisted hatching (AH)
- Donor egg program
- Donor embryo program
- Embryo cryopreservation
- Gamete intrafallopian transfer/zygote intrafallopian transfer (GIFT/ZIFT)
- Gamete micromanipulation/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
- In vitro fertilization/embryo transfer (IVF/ET)
- Minimally stimulated IVF/ET
- Testicular and epididymal aspiration of sperm for IVF
Colposcopy
Director: Colleen Kennedy Stockdale, MD
Identifies pre-malignant cervical pathology as early as invasive cervical cancers. Additionally, treatment of patients with these problems is offered through our LASER/LEEP program.
General Gynecology/Women’s Health Division
Director: Marygrace Elson, MD
fax: 319-356-3901
The division addresses all aspects of ambulatory and inpatient gynecologic care. It offers the following standard and specialized services:
- annual and premarital examinations
- chronic pelvic pain treatment
- colposcopic evaluation
- contraceptive counseling
- infectious diseases
- medical or surgical treatment of common gynecologic disorders
- menopausal evaluation and treatment
- nurse midwives
- nurse practitioners
- office treatment of cervical dysplasia
- operative laparoscopy and hysteroscopy
- pessary and incontinence device fitting clinic
- premenstrual syndrome treatment
- pelvic reconstructive surgery
- sexual/marital counseling
- sterilizations
- urinary incontinence
- urodynamics evaluation
- vulvar diseases
General Obstetrics
Director: Marygrace Elson, MD
fax: 319-356-3901
The General Obstetrics division provides consultation, comprehensive treatment planning, and a broad range of services for patients with normal pregnancies.
Labor and Delivery Unit
Features include:
- 24-hour surgical capability
- complete fetal-maternal monitoring
- new single-room maternity care facilities
- support for family-centered delivery
- 24-hour anesthesia support
- immediate access to a Level III neonatal intensive care unit with treatment options including ECMO and high-frequency ventilation.
Certified Nurse-midwife Service
Lynne Himmelreich, CNM
Laura Dellos, CNM
Elizabeth Potter, CNM, WHNP, MS
Provides complete prenatal and gynecological care to low-risk, healthy women within the following scope of practice:
- breast-feeding advice and support
- consultations with and referrals to staff physicians, health psychologists, dietitians, social workers, physical therapists, and other health care providers according to patient needs
- family planning
- intrapartum care
- prenatal care
- postpartum care
- well-woman gynecology
Maternal-fetal Medicine (High-risk Obstetrics)
Director: Jerome Yankowitz, MD
Provides care for women with high-risk pregnancies. In addition to other services listed, there is comprehensive care for problems including:
- pre-term labor and delivery
- cervical delivery
- cerclage placement
- pre-eclampsia
- women with any medical disorder
- comprehensive diabetes program
- previous pregnancy loss.
Gynecologic Oncology
Interim Director: Thomas Buekers, MD
fax: 319-353-8363
Offers personalized comprehensive cancer care for women with cancer of the reproductive tract. The division is a leading national participant in therapeutic trials sponsored by the Gynecologic Oncology Group as well as several pharmaceutical industrial trials providing patient access to unique therapies. Services available include:
- chemotherapy
- complicated surgical management of patients with complicated medical and surgical problems, such as multiple previous operations and/or previous abdominal cancers
- pelvic surgery for cervical cancer
- pelvic and reconstructive surgery, including continent urinary diversion
- radical abdominal pelvic surgery for ovarian cancer
Infectious and Vulvovaginal Disease
Clinic director: Colleen Kennedy Stockdale, MD
The vulvovaginal disease clinic offers services to women with short-term and long-term problems of the outer genital area (vulva) and vagina. Symptoms may include:
- vulvar/vaginal burning
- itching
- irritation and pain
- pain with intercourse
- abnormal discharge
Prenatal Genetics/Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy
Director: Jerome Yankowitz, MD
fax to Labor and Delivery: 800-876-2496
fax to AFP Program: 319-356-7556
This highly specialized and unique unit provides comprehensive care for women with pregnancies complicated by abnormalities. It administrates the state-run serum-screening program for diagnosable genetic diseases. Approximately 1,000 genetic amniocenteses are performed as well as chorionic villus sampling. The unit also performs:
- targeted ultrasound examinations
- anomaly consultations
- interventional fetal procedures including:
- fetal blood sampling
- intrauterine transfusion for Rh disease and other disorders
- care of infants requiring in utero shunting
Psychiatric Referrals
Director: Robin Kopelman, MD
The Women’s Wellness Clinic provides outpatient consultation, assessment, and psychotherapy as part of a multidisciplinary team providing health care through the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Both individual and couple counseling is provided. In addition to treatment of mood and anxiety disorders, the clinic specializes in psychological aspects of women’s reproductive health, such as:
- coping with chronic conditions
- genetic termination
- high-risk pregnancy
- infertility
- menopause
- postpartum depression
- pregnancy or neonatal loss
- premenstrual syndrome
- sexual abuse and trauma
- vaginismus
Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Director: Bradley J. Van Voorhis, MD
fax: 319-353-6659
Offers diagnostic and therapeutic services for a wide range of reproductive endocrinopathies and hormonal dysfunction, including the following programs and procedures:
- Assisted Reproductive Technologies Program
- Assisted Reproductive Technologies Laboratory
- diagnostic and operative laparoscopy
- diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy
- donor insemination
- evaluation and treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding
- evaluation and treatment of congenital reproductive tract anomalies
- evaluation and treatment of endometriosis
- evaluation of immunologic infertility
- evaluation of recurrent pregnancy loss
- hysterosalpingography
- intrauterine insemination
- primary and secondary amenorrhea
- surgery for uterine fibroids
- tubal microsurgery and sterilization reversal
Ultrasonography
This unit provides all levels of obstetric and gynecologic ultrasound service, and is accredited by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine to perform obstetric and gynecological scanning. Imaging modalities include power and color Doppler.
Gynecologic ultrasound unit
Staff: Sara Baldus, RDMS; Shantel Berns, RDMS, RVT; Johnna Brasmer, RDMS; Melissa Hartzler, RDMS, RVT; Glenda Mueller, RDMS, ARRT; Courtney Scherf, RDMS, RVT
Assists in the evaluation of patients with gynecologic abnormalities by transvaginal ultrasound. The unit’s staff includes two RDMS certified sonographers and three highly trained gynecologic faculty. Procedures offered include routine transvaginal ultrasound as well as saline-infusion sonography (sonohysterography) for the evaluation of women with abnormal bleeding and uterine anomalies. Conditions evaluated include:
- abnormal uterine bleeding
- infertility
- menopausal uterine bleeding
- pelvic masses
- pelvic pain
- recurrent pregnancy loss
Obstetric ultrasound unit
Staff: Shantel Berns, RDMS, RVT; Elizabeth Blankenhorn, RDMS, RVT; Johnna Brasmer, RDMS; Melissa Hartzler, RDMS, RVT; Glenda Mueller, RDMS, ARRT; Courtney Scherf, RDMS, RVT.
Four sonographers, all RDMS certified, serve the obstetric portion of the unit. All obstetric scans are supervised and interpreted by board-certified obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, or geneticists with extensive ultrasound expertise. All faculty have many years of experience in fetal anomalies and intrauterine treatment.
Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
Director: Catherine Bradley, MD
Staffed by obstetrician-gynecologists with post-residency fellowship training in urogynecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery. Evaluation areas and treatment services include:
- urinary incontinence
- voiding dysfunction
- urodynamic testing
- pelvic organ prolapsepessary and incontinence device fitting
- anal sphincter disruption
- recurrent urinary tract infections
- pelvic floor dysfunction
- vesicovaginal fistulas and recto-vaginal fistulas
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