Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
 
            
        Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery presents at 2025 AUGS PFD Week
                    
                    Members of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery presented at the American Urogynecology Society’s (AUGS) Pelvic Floor Disorder Week, held in Vancouver, Canada, from October 14-17, 2025. The meeting was held in collaboration with the Canadian Society for Pelvic Medicine. Their impressive presentations include:Coping with Comp...
                   
                    
                        
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        Women’s Healthcast: Health and Aging: Let’s Talk About Sex, Part 1, featuring Jon Pennycuff, MD, MSPH and Javier Santiago, MD
                    
                    For the next few months, the Women’s Healthcast will dive into all aspects of aging and women’s health, through conversations with experts in the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and beyond.A lot about our lives can change as we get older, and that includes our sex lives. Two guest experts joined this episode of the Women’s Healthcast to talk about some of the phys...
                   
                    
                        
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        Take Control of Your Pelvic Health community talk coming up November 5, 2025
                    
                    Many of us have questions about topics like bladder leakage and pelvic organ prolapse, but we may not know how to bring them up. These conditions are common, especially in perimenopause and beyond, but they are not inevitable.  Join us for an evening of conversation with experts from UW Health Integrated Specialty Care for Women. You'll have the opportunity to meet with phys...
                   
                    
                        
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        Cox discusses anatomy library on SGS Scalpel Sessions podcast
                    
                    Caroline Cox, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, recently joined Scalpel Sessions, the official podcast of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons (SGS), for an episode on the SGS Pelvic Anatomy Group’s (PAG) digital library. Cox was  selected to lead the SGS Pelvic Anatomy Group Digital Library in 2024.In “Inside the PAG ...
                   
                    
                        
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        Welcome incoming URPS Fellow Saule Tamkus, MD!
                    
                    The Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery celebrates a successful match season with the news that Saule Tamkus, MD, has matched to the URPS fellowship! Tamkus will join the fellowship program in August 2026. Tamkus earned her medical degree from Rush Medical College, followed by ob-gyn residency at the University of Wisconsin. She graduated from residen...
                   
                    
                        
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        Patel shares reflections on Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery fellowship
                    
                    After three years of training in the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery fellowship, Ushma Patel, MD,  is preparing to graduate. Patel shares what’s next after fellowship, the important lessons learned during training, and messages of gratitude for people who shaped her time at UW.Where will you be going and what will you be doing after UW O...
                   
                    
                        
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        Integrated Specialty Care for Women program featured in Quarterly Magazine
                    
                    The UW Health Integrated Specialty Care for Women (ISCW) program, a multidisciplinary clinic to address common conditions like pelvic organ prolapse, urinary and fecal incontinence, fibroids, pelvic pain, and sexual dysfunction, launched in late 2024. The program is prominently featured in the spring 2025 issue of Quarterly, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health magazi...
                   
                    
                        
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            Presentations at Department Research Day 2025
                    
                    On May 15, 2025, the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology hosted Department Research Day, an annual presentation of graduating fellows’ thesis projects, research from members of the Department of Ob-Gyn, and posters showcasing a variety of ob-gyn and reproductive health research.Margareta Pisarska, MD, director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertil...
                   
                    
                        
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                                Academic Specialists In Obstetrics and Gynecology
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Gynecologic Oncology
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Maternal-Fetal Medicine
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Reproductive and Population Health
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Reproductive Sciences
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Education
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Research
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Fellowship
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Events
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Collaborative for Reproductive Equity
                            
                        
                    
                        
                            
                                Stanic-Kostic Research Team
                            
                        
                    
                    
                    
                        
                            
                                Abigail Cutler
                            
                        
                    
                
             
            
        Welcome Integrated Specialty Care for Women Medical Director Babak Vakili, MD!
                    
                    Babak Vakili, MD, joined the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and UW Health as the first Medical Director of the Integrated Specialty Care for Women (ISCW) program in April 2025. Dr. Vakili’s role is 50% ISCW Medical Director and 50% faculty in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. Vakili received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical...
                   
                    
                        
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        Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery at 2025 SGS Annual Meeting
                    
                    The Society of Gynecologic Surgeons (SGS) hosted their 51st Annual Scientific Meeting March 30-April 2, 2025. Several members of the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery attended the conference and shared their work.  Caroline Cox, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, was selected in early 2024 to ...
                   
                    
                        
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        Giles selected as UW SMPH Phase 1 Preceptor Program Director
                    
                    Dobie Giles, MD, MS, MBA, professor in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, has been selected for an exciting leadership role in medical student education! Giles is the new director of the Phase 1 Preceptor Program in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, effective January 1, 2025.As part of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health ForWa...
                   
                    
                        
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        Research and leadership at 2024 AUGS PFD Week Conference
                    
                    Members of the Department of Ob-Gyn Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery brought research and presentations to the 2024 AUGS PFD Week Conference in Washington, DC October 22-25,2024! A few of their exciting accomplishments:Jon Pennycuff, MD, MSPH, assistant professor in the division, presented Exploring Early Career Surgeons' Views on Support and Mento...
                   
                    
                        
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        Hartenbach helps introduce Integrated Specialty Care for Women on WMTV-15 News
                    
                    As services in the new Eastpark Medical Center open up, leaders from across the UW School of Medicine and Public Health have shared updates about the clinic with local media. Ellen Hartenbach, MD, chair of the Department of Ob-Gyn, joined WMTV-15 News to talk about Integrated Specialty Care for Women, located at Eastpark Medical Center. In UW Eastpark Medical Center offering...
                   
                    
                        
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        Department of Ob-Gyn at the AAGL 2024 53rd Global Congress on MIGS
                    
                    The AAGL hosted the 53rd Global Congress on MIGS in New Orleans November 16-19, 2024. Members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology participated in several aspects of the event!Olga Fajardo, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, was a member of the event’s Program Committee.Dobie Giles, MD, MS, MBA, professor in the Division of U...
                   
                    
                        
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        Grand Rounds: Patel presents “Tackling the Taboo: Let’s Talk #2”
                    
                    Ushma Patel, MD, a fellow in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, presented the Grand Rounds lecture “Tackling the Taboo: Let’s Talk #2.”In the lecture, Patel defined fecal incontinence (FI), described the parts of a physical examination for FI, and recommended an approach to FI management.You can watch the full lecture here.**by Ob-Gyn Communicat...
                   
                    
                        
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        Hartenbach and Heisler discuss launch of Integrated Specialty Care for Women services at Eastpark Medical Center
                    
                    Ellen Hartenbach, MD, chair of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn, and Christine Heisler, MD, MS, associate professor and director of the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, are sharing more information about the UW Health Integrated Specialty Care for Women (ISCW) launch at Eastpark Medical Center with local media. In the UW Health news article “Integrated...
                   
                    
                        
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        Sergeant nominated for UW Health APP Excellence Award
                    
                    UW Health celebrated advanced practice providers during APP Week in September, culminating in the UW Health UW Health Advanced Practice Provider Excellence Awards celebration. Angela Sergeant, NP, of the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, was nominated for a 2024 Excellence in Clinical Practice Award. In nomination materials, her colleagues said: “A...
                   
                    
                        
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        Patel and Cox discuss study on UTI treatments with MedScape
                    
                    Ushma Patel, MD, a fellow in the Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Division in the UW Department of Ob-Gyn and Caroline Cox, MD, an assistant professor in the same division, joined Medscape for a recent a story about urinary tract infection (UTI) care.“Over-the-Counter UTI Products: What Primary Care Clinicians Need to Know” publicized a study done by Patel and...
                   
                    
                        
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        Grand Rounds: Cox presents “The Key Role of the Apical Ligaments in Uterovaginal Support”
                    
                    On September 26, 2024, Caroline Cox, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, presented the Grand Rounds lecture “The Key Role of the Apical Ligaments in Uterovaginal Support.”In the lecture, Cox created a model for the progression of prolapse by understanding the anatomy and histology of ligaments and biomechanical imaging ...
                   
                    
                        
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