Most Recognized Male Infertility Specialist, Worldwide
Dr. Philip Werthman is the most recognized vasectomy reversal surgeon and male fertility specialist in the world. With an office located in Los Angeles and surgical facilities in Beverly Hills, he is a leader in the exploding field of men’s health. He is a perennial selection to the Super Doctors list and was the recipient of the American Fertility Association’s Illuminations Award that is given yearly to the outstanding fertility doctor in the nation. Dr. Werthman performed the first-ever network-televised vasectomy reversal on ABC’s hit show “Extreme Makeover” as well as appearing on numerous television shows and news programs. Dr. Werthman is a featured consultant to most major news and media outlets and has appeared on the acclaimed medical talk show “The Doctors.” Dr. Werthman has been featured as an authority on male fertility and vasectomy reversal by multiple news sources, including ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and ESPN. His surgical successes have been celebrated in People Magazine and the Los Angeles Times and he was selected to be one of Hollywood’s Top Doctors.
Dr. Werthman is an author, editor and contributor to definitive textbooks and chapters on male fertility. He is acknowledged for his high success rate with minimal complications prompting his peers to seek advice on his techniques. In response to these requests, Dr. Werthman authored the chapter on male reproductive surgery in the leading urological textbook, Complications of Urologic Surgery and took on the task of editing a textbook on male infertility for the series, Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Clinics of North America. He was also on the editorial board of Conceive Magazine.
Dr. Werthman is a diplomat of the American Board of Urology and Director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Vasectomy Reversal in Los Angeles, and was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He also served as past president of the Los Angeles Urologic Society and chief of urology at the former Century City Hospital. During his early academic career he was an Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and an Instructor in Urology at UCLA Medical Center.
He conducted award-winning scientific research publishing early articles in the nascent field of gene therapy while a member of UCLA’s liver transplant laboratory.
But the accolades that Dr. Werthman treasures most are those from his patients: the walls of his office are filled with photos and cards expressing the heartfelt gratitude of hundreds of former patients and new parents. When he started his medical career, he looked for an active way of intervening to assist patients. Ultimately this led to a surgical internship and urology residency. The choice to specialize in reproductive medicine was a spiritual calling to help bring more life into the world. Dr. Werthman feels that helping patients to become parents is one of the most significant ways to participate actively in the process of creation.
Philip Werthman graduated from Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the class valedictorian, having ranked first in his class for all four years of medical school. After he was awarded the Medical Staff Award for Highest Attainment on the National Boards medical examination, it became very clear that Dr. Werthman could have his choice of specialty programs and training; he chose urology and completed his seven-year residency and fellowship in urology at the University of California and then Los Angeles specialized in male infertility. When microsurgery and IVF (in-vitro fertilization) came on the scene for the treatment of male factor infertility he viewed this marvelous technology with fascination he decided to further specialize in andrology (literally, the “study of man,” a subspecialty within the discipline of urology) and was granted a visiting fellowship in male infertility and microsurgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He returned to California to practice and refine the advanced methods of vasectomy reversal, the microsurgical approach. Dr. Werthman developed it even further and has since become world renowned at performing microsurgical vasectomy reversal and sperm harvesting procedures.
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Meet Dr. Philip Werthman
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Vasectomy Reversal
Vasectomy Reversal Testimonial
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Dr. Phillip Werthman - Male Fertility Doctor
Dr. Werthman, a former Assistant Clinical Professor of Urology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, is renowned for his expertise in male fertility, having authored two authoritative textbooks on the subject. As the Past President of the Los Angeles Urologic Society, he has been honored with the American Fertility Association’s Illumination Award, recognizing him as the nation's foremost fertility specialist. His groundbreaking work extends to performing the first televised vasectomy reversal surgery on ABC’s Extreme Makeover and providing consultation to major news networks like CNN and NBC.
Yet, amidst these accolades, Dr. Werthman's most cherished recognition comes from his patients. Adorning the walls of his office are countless photos and cards, tokens of gratitude from the many former patients who have become parents thanks to his care.
- University of Southern California School of Medicine
- Los Angeles Urologic Society
- American Fertility Association
Fertility Doctor in Los Angeles Testimonials
"Thanks to Dr Werthman and his staff's help, my wife and I were able to have our first child. I would recommend his services to anyone struggling to get pregnant. Dr Werthman and his team were all so wonderful."
— J.M.
"My husband was five years post vasectomy when he had his reversal by Dr. Werthman. 15 months later, we conceived, and I am now nine weeks pregnant. I remember how much the reviews gave me hope, so now I am writing a review to give another mom-to-be hope, too. Dr. Werthman is a good doctor and very personable."
— J.J.
Treasured Awards: Of all the accolades he has received, Dr. Werthman values these most highly: his “Most Compassionate Doctor” award, and his “Patients’ Choice” award.
First in His Class
Philip Werthman, the top fertility specialist in Los Angeles, embarked on his medical journey with exceptional distinction. Graduating from Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he achieved the highest honor as the class valedictorian, maintaining the top rank throughout all four years of medical school. His outstanding performance extended to the National Board medical examination, where he was honored with the Medical Staff Award for Highest Attainment. Dr. Werthman's stellar achievements made it evident that he could select from an array of specialty programs and training opportunities.
Dr. Werthman chose Urology. He completed his seven-year residency and fellowship in urology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Issues of male infertility and micro-surgery fascinated the young doctor, so he decided to further specialize in Andrology (literally, the “study of man,” a subspecialty within the discipline of Urology) and was granted a visiting fellowship in male infertility and microsurgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
Groundbreaking Male Fertility Doctor
Dr. Werthman’s practice is dedicated exclusively to microsurgical vasectomy reversal, no-scalpel vasectomy, and the treatment of male infertility. In the course of his practice, he has performed over 20,000 microsurgical procedures and well over 2000 no-scalpel vasectomies.
Pioneer in Vasectomy Reversal
Early in his career, Dr. Werthman became aware that vasectomy reversals had a relatively low success rate: as many as 30% of the simple reversals failed to result in renewed fertility because a second blockage had developed in some men upstream from the vasectomy reversal site.
That second blockage needed to be bypassed but that required a very complicated procedure called a vasoepidydymostomy that few surgeons were trained to perform. Dr Werthman then pioneered and perfected a new technique for vasectomy reversal called the “Mini-Incision Microsurgical Vasoepididymostomy.”
Many of the urologists and male fertility doctors who perform microsurgical vasectomy reversals today incorporated this technique. More recently he devised the “No-Touch Vasectomy Reversal” described above.
Innovator in Male Infertility Treatment
Dr. Werthman was the first male infertility specialist to use local anesthesia in an office setting to perform microsurgical epididymal sperm aspirations (MESA), a procedure in which viable sperm are obtained from men who have a blockage in their reproductive tract. Patients are very appreciative that he has turned a procedure that formerly required a 2-hour surgery, in a hospital, and under general anesthesia, into a minor procedure that can be performed in the office, with a local anesthetic, and requires no more than a Band-aid to cover the mini-incision. He became a proponent of sperm DNA fragmentation testing as a way of predicting sperm quality. With that, He developed strategies to improve outcomes using sperm for IVF. Dr. Werthman was one of the first to realize that testicular sperm had lower DNA damage than poor quality ejaculated sperm and that using sperm extracted from the testicle improved the success rate of IVF even in couples who had failed numerous cycles. Dr. Werthman was one of the first to show that repairing Varicoceles (enlarged testicular veins) lowered sperm DNA damage and improved pregnancy rates.
Dr. Werthman than went on to develop a less invasive technique to perform microsurgical testicular sperm extraction that causes less damage to the testicle that the current procedure performed but other urologists called the Mini Incision Microsurgical Testicular Sperm Extraction. He has also described a local anesthetic irrigation technique that keeps patients pain free longer after surgery.
Award-winning Physician Leader in his Specialty
Dr. Werthman is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Diplomate of the American Board of Urology, and Director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Vasectomy Reversal in Los Angeles, CA. He is also a past Los Angeles Urologic Society president and a former Chief of Urology at Century City Hospital.
In addition to his “Patient’s Choice” and “Most Compassionate Doctor” awards, Dr. Werthman has also received many accolades from medical associations and peer-review boards, including a perennial listing on “America’s Top Physicians” and the American Fertility Association’s “Illuminations Award,”
a coveted honor bestowed upon only the most outstanding fertility doctors in the nation. His development of the mini-incision microsurgical vasoepididymostomy earned him recognition as one of the American Urologic Association’s National Meeting’s top ten innovators in urological surgery.
Dr. Werthman’s high success rate with minimal complications has also prompted his peers to seek his advice. In response to these requests, Dr. Werthman authored the chapter on male reproductive surgery in the leading urological textbook, “Complications of Urologic Surgery,” and took on the task of editing a textbook on male infertility for the series “Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Clinics of North America.”
The Media's Favorite Fertility Doctor in Los Angeles
As the top fertility specialist in Los Angeles, it is no wonder that all major media outlets in Los Angeles and nationwide turn to Dr. Werthman for his expertise, opinion, and advice. Dr. Werthman has been featured on ABC, CBS, ESPN, MEL Magazine, Fertility Planit, and in numerous online publications and print, such as FOX News, Men's Health, Shape, WebMD, Dr. Oz: The Good Life, Cosmopolitan, CNN, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and many more.
How do I know which surgeon to choose?
Many vasectomy reversal doctors and clinics feel that they must resort to using some sort of gimmick or guarantee to attract patients and increase the business for their vasectomy reversal clinic. They do this in the hopes that most prospective patients will know little about vasectomy reversal and will be drawn to them by attractive marketing.
What is a bit frightening is that a large number of patients don’t see through these marketing ploys. It is amazing how many urologists have begun advertising vasectomy reversal services on the Internet or offering “money-back guarantees” in the last seven years since we went on-line with one of the original vasectomy reversal websites (we were one of the first clinics to educate patients via the web).
Clearly, a busy vasectomy reversal practice can be lucrative, and urologists who have no or little training in microsurgery have posted websites claiming to be experts. One vasectomy reversal surgeon even admits that his training was a one-week course in microsurgery. Of course, he charges a very low fee to perform the surgery in his office.
We have decided to include a section to inform and educate patients on what to look for and what facts and medicine are versus misleading marketing. We will give you some insight on how to read between the lines. There are no governing bodies that ensure that websites adhere to ethical standards or demonstrate integrity, and no medical societies police the Internet for incorrect medical information. Anyone can make any claim on a website!
Every patient should know that there is more than one expert doctor in the United States who can reverse a vasectomy and do a great job. There is no single best vasectomy reversal surgeon who is above all the others, but there are a handful of highly-trained and highly-regarded microsurgeons who are the nation’s leaders in the field of vasectomy reversal procedures.
This is the top tier of vasectomy reversal surgeons who have recognized superior skill and training and have dedicated their careers to performing microsurgical reversals. The criteria and characteristics that enable a physician to be a top-tier microsurgeon are as follows:
1. Training
Microsurgery can’t be learned on one’s own, and there are a limited number of fellowships in the country that teach the basics. Very few urologists each year complete a one-year microsurgical fellowship.
This is the first criterion to start with. If the doctor you are considering hasn’t completed a fellowship in infertility, you should look elsewhere.
2. Experience
For a surgeon to become truly an expert in a procedure, they must constantly practice and improve on the basic skills acquired during the fellowship and become comfortable performing the surgery on their own. During the fellowship, microsurgical skills are learned through assisting another “mentoring” surgeon. Doctors in fellowship training don’t perform vasectomy reversal surgery by themselves.
To get the needed experience and know how to handle all the different scenarios that can arise during a reversal, the vasectomy reversal surgeon needs to have performed hundreds or, better yet, thousands of vasectomy reversals. Then, to maintain skills, the surgeon needs to perform at least several microsurgical procedures every week. This is the thing that separates the experts from those who just dabble, even if they are fellowship-trained. It is said that to be a true expert in any field, one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours practicing one's craft.
In the United States, there are probably less than ten top-tier vasectomy reversal surgeons with both training and experience.
There are only a few top-level vasectomy reversal surgeons because there are not enough patients who need reversals to keep all the doctors who want to do reversals busy enough to limit their practice to microsurgery. The busy vasectomy reversal doctors have a good reputation and continue getting busier. There is then a second and third tier of surgeons that probably numbers ten to twenty.
The goal here is not to publicize or list specific vasectomy reversal doctors but rather to give you the tools and insight to help you educate yourselves. Please do some research so you can make a decision about the doctors you choose. Be skeptical, ask questions, and get referrals from satisfied patients, other doctors, or nurses. Check your reputation and do your homework!
3. Talent
Microsurgery is a skill, an art form, and a talent. Some people are more talented and skilled than others, but no matter how much training they have, they just can’t get it.
Why do some musicians or artists become masters and others with the same training and dedication do not reach the same heights professionally? Talent – it is something a person is born with.
4. Integrity
This is something to be demanded of anyone you entrust to care for your health and reproductive future,
certainly, from anyone you will let perform surgery on you.
How To Choose A Fertility Specialists In Los Angeles
- 1. Experience and expertise, especially in your specific condition.
- 2. High success rates, indicating skill and quality of care.
- 3. Empathy, compassion, and emotional support.
- 4. Effective communication skills.
- 5. Personalized treatment plans.
- 6. Transparency about risks, benefits, and costs.
- 7. Convenient clinic location.
- 8. Accessibility and responsiveness.
- 9. Collaborative approach with other specialists.
- 10. Positive patient reviews and recommendations.
- 11. Utilization of innovative techniques.
- 12. Supportive and knowledgeable staff.
- 13. Financial transparency.
Athlete, Historical Analyst and Proud Father
Dr. Werthman played college basketball at SUNY Binghamton and is a skier, cyclist, as well as practitioner of traditional Shotokan Karate. If medicine weren’t enough, he has been an analyst of historical perspectives on military operations both domestic and abroad, having received a Masters Degree in Military History from Norwich University, and works closely with the military.
Recently, Dr. Werthman and his wife, Adi, became proud parents of their own little miracle–daughter Ava Rena.
Questions to Ask a Fertility Doctor
Understanding your fertility and what impacts your ability to conceive gives you the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions about your care. While Dr. Werthman may not be able to identify the exact cause of infertility at your first visit, he will answer your questions so you can be better prepared for the journey ahead.
What is the first line of infertility treatment?
The first line of infertility treatment often involves lifestyle changes and monitoring of ovulation through methods such as tracking basal body temperature or using ovulation predictor kits.
Do you recommend starting with medications for infertility before other therapies?
Whether to start with medications for infertility depends on various factors, such as the cause of infertility, age, and other medical conditions. It's best to consult a fertility specialist who can provide personalized recommendations.
How does my health impact my fertility?
Your overall health can significantly impact fertility. Conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and thyroid disorders can affect fertility in both men and women.
Do you recommend different treatments for males vs. females?
Treatment recommendations may vary based on the underlying cause of infertility. For example, fertility medications or assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF) may be more suitable for certain female infertility issues, while surgical procedures might be recommended for male factors like varicocele.
How does assisted reproductive technology (ART) work?
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) involves procedures such as IVF, where eggs are retrieved from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm outside the body. The resulting embryos are then transferred to the uterus.
When would you recommend surgery as infertility treatment?
Surgery may be recommended as an infertility treatment in cases such as blocked fallopian tubes or conditions like endometriosis or fibroids that affect fertility.
What risks should I consider?
Risks associated with infertility treatments can include multiple pregnancies, ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), ectopic pregnancy, and complications from procedures such as egg retrieval or embryo transfer.
What is the success rate for various infertility treatments?
Success rates for infertility treatments vary depending on factors such as age, the underlying cause of infertility, and the specific treatment used. IVF success rates, for example, can range from around 30% to 50% per cycle for women under 35.
How long do treatments take to work?
The time it takes for infertility treatments to work can vary greatly. Some treatments, such as fertility medications, may yield results within a few months, while others, like IVF, may require multiple cycles over several months.
What side effects and symptoms are expected?
Side effects of infertility treatments can include mood swings, hot flashes, abdominal discomfort, and reactions to fertility medications. Symptoms such as bloating and breast tenderness are also common.
Are there any lifestyle changes you recommend?
Lifestyle changes that can improve fertility include maintaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol intake, managing stress, and avoiding exposure to toxins and environmental pollutants.
What are the estimated costs of your recommended treatment?
The costs of infertility treatments can vary widely depending on factors such as the type of treatment, the clinic or facility, medications, and any additional procedures or testing required. It's essential to discuss the financial aspects with your healthcare provider and your insurance provider, if applicable, to understand the potential costs involved.
What are the most likely causes of our fertility issues based on our medical histories and initial tests, and how do these causes influence the choice of treatment?
Understanding the specific reasons behind fertility challenges is crucial for effectively targeting treatment. Ask your doctor to explain how factors like hormonal imbalances, sperm abnormalities, or structural issues with the reproductive organs might influence your treatment plan. This discussion can also lead to personalized recommendations, ensuring that the approach is tailored to your needs and maximizes your chances of successful conception.
Can you outline the treatment options available to us, including their procedures, timelines, success rates, and how they mainly apply to our situation?
This comprehensive question aims to gather detailed information about each potential treatment, such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), or the use of donor eggs or sperm. Request specifics on each process, from the initial steps to potential follow-ups. Additionally, ask about the expected timelines and success rates for each treatment, specifically for couples with similar fertility profiles as yours, to help manage expectations and make a well-informed decision.
What lifestyle modifications can we adopt to enhance our fertility and the effectiveness of treatments potentially, and are there complementary therapies that could be integrated into our treatment plan?
This question addresses the medical treatments and explores how holistic changes can support your fertility journey. Discuss potential dietary changes, physical activities, or stress-reduction techniques that might improve your reproductive health. Also, inquire about complementary therapies like acupuncture or herbal supplements that some couples find beneficial when used alongside conventional treatments. Understanding how these modifications and complementary therapies can be part of your overall strategy can help create a comprehensive plan aimed at enhancing fertility.
Schedule Your Consultation Today
Schedule a private consultation with male fertility doctor Dr. Phillip Werthman to learn about your male reproduction options and get all of your questions answered.
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