UI Women's Health emphasizes the importance of health and well–being for women in every stage of life. We offer seamless access to specialists, diagnostic testing, treatment and services. The leading causes of death in women are not obstetrical and gynecologic; they are heart disease and cancer, so creating a collaborative relationship with other specialties is essential for successful treatments.
Expert Gynecologic Oncology Services Enhance Outcomes
Providing
comprehensive care for women with gynecologic cancers means
communicating effectively with their referring doctors. We place a high
priority on working with you to facilitate the best possible outcomes
for your patients.
Our gynecologic oncology physicians work
with you to improve prospects for women with gynecologic malignancies.
Our clinicians are highly experienced in robotic, laparoscopic, and open
surgical procedures and base their approach on individual
considerations for each case.
Comprehensive surgical de-bulking of
ovarian cancer is key to a patient’s survival from this disease. We
stage and remove as much of the disease as possible using open surgical
procedures. For endometrial cancer, we use open or robot-assisted
laparoscopic techniques to stage and treat the malignancy.
Clinical trials of new cancer drugs, or
of new uses for existing drugs, may benefit your patients. The UI is a
longstanding participant in the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG), an
international consortium of clinicians and researchers dedicated to
improving the care of women with gynecologic cancer. In fact, we are one
of the GOG’s top sites for enrolling patients in trials. Thus, we can
offer women access to new therapies that are not widely available.
The UI is currently testing PEGylated
irinotecan as an alternative treatment for platinum-resistant cancers.
For information, e-mail study coordinator Sharon Stockman or call 319-356-2015.
E-mail David Bender, MD, director of gynecologic oncology, or call 319-356-2015.
Research
Our total National Institutes of Health
(NIH) research funding exceeds $10 million. The Women's Reproductive
Health Research Career Development Center was awarded five–year, $2.2
million grant from the NIH. The Center is part of a national network of
mentored career development programs for physician scientists and junior
faculty who are committed to an independent research career in women's
reproductive health.
As part of Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy
Research Center, two UI Obstetrics and Gynecology faculty — Baoli Yang,
MD, PhD and Roger Williamson, MD — will explore the possibility of using
embryonic stem cells to treat muscular dystrophies. The ultimate goal
is to provide cell–based models of disease for development of therapies
against the diverse forms of muscular dystrophy. The core will be a
national resource of targeted stem cells. $2.2 Million NIH Grant
Supports UI Women's Reproductive Health Research
The University of Iowa Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology has been awarded a five–year, $2.2 million
grant from the National Institutes of Health to support junior faculty
researchers in women's reproductive health.
We are a leader in Women's Health
Initiative (WHI) trials including the Study of Women Across the Nation
(SWAN), which is an observational study of the menopause transition. The
goal of SWAN's research is to help scientists, health care providers
and women learn how mid–life experiences affect health and quality of
life during aging. The study is co–sponsored by the National Institute
on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Research on Women's
Health, and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine.
Our Center for Advanced Reproductive Care
has done extensive research on pregnancy rates when a single embryo
transfer protocol is a mandatory practice. This practice has reduced the
number of multiples without sacrificing pregnancy rates.
Our research interests include:
- Urogynecology Research
- Painful Bladder Condition
- Gene Targeting Core Facilities
Research Focus: IVF Kids' Academic Achievement
Children conceived through in vitro
fertilization perform slightly better than their peers on standardized
tests, UI research shows. A study led by Dr. Bradley Van Voorhis,
director of the UI Center for Advanced Reproductive Care, compared test
scores of children in grades 3 to 12. The data showed no difference
between IVF children based on the type of in vitro fertilization. "Our
findings are reassuring for clinicians and patients, as they suggest
that being conceived through IVF does not have any detrimental effects
on a child's intelligence or cognitive development," Dr. Van Voorhis
said. The study was published in the journal Human Reproduction.
U.S.News & World Report Rankings
U.S.News & World Report has ranked gynecology services at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics at No. 33 in its annual survey of best hospitals. In all, U.S.News listed 10 UI adult and three pediatric specialties at No. 35 or higher in its top-50 rankings.
Clinical Services
UI Women's Health is our gateway to clinical care for women. We offer primary health care for women, coupled with specialty services including minimally invasive surgery, vulvar–vaginal disease, adolescent gynecologic health, treatment of fibroids, including uterine artery embolization, and colposcopy, urogynecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery, breast health —including reconstructive breast surgery, wellness and counseling, and ovarian, uterine, vaginal, vulvar oncology, and LEEP procedures.
We offer an extraordinary depth of clinical expertise in areas ranging from pregnancy and birth, pediatric and adolescent gynecology, and urogynecology and reconstructive surgery to breast health—including reconstructive breast surgery, wellness and counseling, and ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar oncology.
UI Women's Health (Services)
Nine of our physicians, William Davis, Koen De Geest, Stephen Hunter, Susan Johnson, Jennifer Niebyl, Ginny Ryan, Craig Syrop, Bradley Van Voorhis, Jerome (Jerry) Yankowitz, were named among the
Best Doctors in America in an independent listing.
UI Surgeon Carol Scott-Conner, MD, PhD, was named one of America's top doctors for women by Women's Health Magazine, which cited her expertise in breast cancer, cancer surgery, and laparoscopic surgery.
Our maternal fetal medicine experts provide comprehensive prenatal care to women with high-risk pregnancies. The Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Unit was among the first 30 in the country to receive accreditation. The Neonatal Level 3C Intensive Care Unit has among the best outcome rates supported by data collected by the Vermont Oxford Network.
We are home to the Iowa Statewide Perinatal program which has been in in operation for more than 36 years.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the LUMA Cervical Imaging System for use in combination with routine cervical exams to detect precancerous disease. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is one of five centers that will install LUMA as part of a nationwide clinical study to determine the effectiveness of the system coupled with existing methods.
Reproductive Endocrinology
The Center for Advanced Reproductive Care brings together board-certified reproductive endocrinologists, urologists, specialized nurses, embryologists, and andrologists to offer a full range of infertility treatment options. The center is online at www.uihealthcare.org/infertility.
Our in vitro fertilization program is a national leader in providing single-embryo transfers to women who meet the criteria for this innovative procedure. Single pregnancies are safer for mothers and babies and more likely to result in full-term deliveries. Our success rate combining transfer of single fresh and frozen embryos exceeds 80 percent.
We also offer fertility preservation for men and women who face an illness or treatment that may cause infertility. Services include freezing semen, eggs, and embryos. Patients who have benefited include individuals with cancer requiring radiation treatment, women with ovarian disease requiring surgery, and women at risk for premature ovarian failure.
New Faculty Member Enhances Reproductive Endocrinology Services
Dr. E. Hakan Duran has joined our faculty with a clinical focus on reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Educated at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, Dr. Duran completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency and research and clinical fellowships at Eastern Virginia Medical School. His interests also include male infertility and obesity.
Resources for Providers
The UI Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has launched Proceedings in Obstetrics and Gynecology, an open-access peer-reviewed journal. The journal covers all aspects of reproductive health and includes original research, case reports, and management protocols. Proceedings is available online at ir.uiowa.edu/pog. A link on the journal's web site allows readers to submit articles for consideration.