Dr. Turek's Blog

Go Ahead, Have a Heart

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Tonight is it! The year-end fundraiser for our free clinic for the working uninsured in San Francisco, Clinic by the Bay. And what a great year it was! Have a look: Serving 750 families in San Francisco and Daly City Providing care to a working community of which 99% have no health insurance Enrolling from 50-75 […]

Less Can Mean More

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

The Case of the Month is an actual patient from The Turek Clinic. The couple stared at me excitedly. “We’re here because we want to have FNA mapping done. We heard that you invented it and that you can find sperm from a rock and I was told that I am shooting blanks.” It’s true that […]

Reversing Vasectomy Reversal Thinking

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

You had your wings clipped and now you want more children. What’s a guy to do? Well that depends on who you ask.  Your choices include vasectomy reversal or sperm retrieval and assisted reproduction (IVF – ICSI). Doctors who perform IVF – ICSI might say that vasectomy reversals don’t work. Doctors who do vasectomy reversals say […]

Assisted Reproduction: A Two-Edged Sword

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Almost 2 decades ago, just about the time when my fellowship ended and I was starting on the faculty of UCSF, along came ICSI. Short for intracytoplasmic sperm injection, ICSI involves using a single sperm and manually injecting it into an egg. Voila, the egg fertilizes and becomes an embryo, and later, with the help of mother, […]

Try It, You’ll Like It?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

As if it’s not top of mind anyway, here’s an update on the state of erection pills. Another one was just approved by the FDA and will hit the streets soon. Its name: Stendra (avanafil). Who names these drugs anyway? The PDE5i Drugs This new pill works similarly to the holy triumvirate of Viagra, Levitra […]

It Takes Two to Tango

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

The Case of the Month is an actual patient from The Turek Clinic. It is presented to highlight Infertility Awareness Week. The Dance Begins He is a 36-year old who has been trying to conceive with his 35-year old wife for 2 years. After 5 months of trying, the couple achieved a pregnancy she miscarried […]

Why I Love Medicine-Redux

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

I was recently asked why I love medicine by a health care blog. They published what they could, but there is really more than my response to them revealed. I’d like to set the record straight. We all grow up reading in school. A book is a pile of paper with words on it. But […]

The Essential Beginnings of a Vitamin

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Honestly, my opinion about nutritional supplements has evolved dramatically. Historically, the value of prenatal vitamins for women is well recognized and uncontested. For example, calcium keeps mom’s bones healthy as developing fetuses borrow mom’s calcium for their own bones. And iron prevents the anemia of pregnancy. Folic acid clearly prevents neural disorders and birth defects […]

How Obesity Can Affect Male Fertility

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

You have often heard me say that sperm production is an engine that really wants to run hard and fast. And, that by not taking great care of yourself, sperm quality and fertility can suffer. Given that 1 in 3 Americans have it, one of the biggest elephants in the room is obesity. Now, the […]

April Fools in Saudi Arabia?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Had April Fools Day come weeks early half way around the world? The thought had crossed my mind just before harsh reality hit. A Short Trip to Saudi Arabia It was a long day and I had given several lectures the day before at a medical symposium in Riyadh and headed to King Khalid Airport […]