Dr. Turek's Blog

Women: They’ve Got Me Covered

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

I think it was Jim Carrey who said, “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.” Ok, maybe that’s not always the case, but there are several women who have fundamentally shaped my life. Here’s my short list of Happy Mother’s Day recipients: Mother: For obvious reasons (“I wouldn’t be here without you”), […]

Royal Advice for the Ages

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Dear Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, I watched your lovely wedding at Westminster Abbey this week. So sorry that I couldn’t make it to the Abbey for the ceremony, but I had to operate that day (and you didn’t actually invite me).  All is forgiven, as I was privileged enough to watch the marriage (from […]

The Secret Life of a Microsurgeon

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

A recent study on hungover surgeons suggests that they are slower and sloppier after a night on the town. Get them toasted, let them sleep it off and they can’t perform surgery on par the next day. Not surprising findings, given the physical and mental demands of many surgeries. But quite alarming for patients who […]

Eat, Sleep, Reproduce

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

It has been said that we, like many other living creatures, were put on this good earth to eat, sleep and reproduce. In a minimalist, animalistic and mechanistic way, everything else is we do to make the world a better place is icing on the cake. Of course, we have free will and we can […]

Clinic by the Bay, San Francisco’s Volunteers in Medicine Clinic

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Clinic By the Bay’s overarching goal is to improve access to comprehensive, quality health care for the region’s working uninsured, while providing meaningful opportunities for civic engagement. As one of 84 Volunteers in Medicine clinics nationally, we engage retired and practicing doctors, nurses, and other community volunteers to provide compassionate care, free of charge, to […]

Mice Sperm in a Dish

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

It’s not the mother load of discoveries in our field, but it’s pretty close. It tells us that the mother load is definitely out there…and within reach. Yup, the good news is that real. live, old-fashioned sperm were made in a dish… at least for mice. The Holy Grail: Artificial Sperm For the 55,000 reproductive […]

Giving Up the Gavel

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

In two days, I will hand over the gavel. It’s actually a meat tenderizer that I bought to run the meetings this year and it worked just great. A gavel with teeth. Regardless, I surrender it with mixed feelings. On one hand, a year as President of one of America’s leading academic societies is a […]

A Primer on Radiation

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

We are all concerned for the Japanese after their recent, unheard of, triple cataclysm of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. The catastrophe was horrendous and the photo-footage of the disaster is mind numbing and knee buckling. And next on our minds, occurring on the heels of the Haiti earthquake is what’s next for Japan: infectious […]

Boxers or Briefs?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

You’ve been wearing the same banana hammock for as long as you can remember. They’ve been fine for years. No beefs. Then, all of a sudden, like a left hook outta nowhere, you are trying to have kids, and the issue comes up: boxers or briefs? Which is better for fertility? The Underwear Tradition According […]

Is Coca-Cola a Contraceptive?

Myth Busters – Is Coca-Cola a Contraceptive?

Posted on by Paul Turek, MD

Young people today would probably be surprised to learn that cola was ever considered a potential form of birth control, but those alive in the ‘50s and ‘60s may remember that Coca-Cola was once rumored to help sexually active couples prevent pregnancy. As the lore goes, a woman could shake up a bottle of the […]