After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, Texas in 1962 I received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1965. I then attended Pennbroke College, Oxford University in Oxford, England and studied Animal Physiology which is the biological science of life process, activities, and functions. I received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1968 and a Master of Arts Degree in 1972 from Pennbroke College, from Oxford University.

In 1972 I graduated from Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, Missouri with a Medical Degree.

I completed a rotating internship at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas in 1973 and then completed a residence in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in Houston, Texas in 1976.

During my residency from 1974-1976, I completed a Fellowship in Ob/Gyn Pathology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, a Fellowship in High Risk Obstetrics at the University of Southern California Medical Center in Los Angeles, and a Fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

In 1977 I completed a Fellowship in Infertility at the University of Louisville Medical School in Louisville, Kentucky.

Since 1977 when I began my private practice in Gynecology and Infertility, I have been affiliated with both medical schools in Houston in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology as Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and Clinical Instructor at Baylor College of Medicine.

I became certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1982 and I became a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

My private Gynecology and Infertility practice deals with the diagnosis and treatment of medical diseases, disorders of reproductive endocrinology, and infertility in females. Gynecology covers a woman's general health care including her reproductive organs, breasts, and sexual function. Infertility is defined as a couple's inability to conceive after 1 year of unprotected sexual intercourse.

My practice offers preventive health care. This can help the patient make choices that will prevent health problems. Preventive health care includes exams and routine tests that look for problems before you are sick.

We can evaluate a patient's health and provide care for a range of medical problems, not just those of the reproductive system. For many women, their Gynecologist is their primary care physician - the doctor they turn to first for healthcare.

The care provided by a Gynecologist can range from a basic gynecology exam including a Pap Test to a complete health care of reproductive or other disorders.

The Pap test is done to detect cancer of the cervix. The type of care depends on the patient's needs and options available. By visiting her Gynecologist every 6-12 months on a regular basis, problems such as cervical cancer can be diagnosed early resulting in a good chance for definitive treatment.

What is meant by infertility? How common is it? What kinds of tests are done on the couple? What are some of the treatments that can be dome, and what is the success rate of couples getting pregnant after undergoing an infertility evaluation?

A woman who has a sterilization procedure can have her fallopian tubes put back together depending on a number of factors.

First, there needs to be enough fallopian tube present at the time of the surgery so that after the surgery the tube is long enough to transport the fertilized egg to the uterus to have a pregnancy.

Second, the fallopian tubes have to be normal appearing and free of disease so that when the surgery is completed they can function normally.

Prior to the tubal reanastomosis surgery, a standard infertility work-up is done on the couple to exclude any other causes of infertility. This would include in the male a semenanalysis and in the female blood and urine tests, post coital test, ovulation test and hysterosalpingogram. A hysterosalpingogram is done to confirm that the tubes are closed off from the sterilization procedure. This test is an x-ray that shows the inside of the uterus and fallopian tubes. In t cases, it is done right after the menstrual period. A small amount of dye is placed in the uterus through a thin tube inserted through the cervix. Then, an x-ray is taken. The fluid outline the inside of the uterus and shows (by a spill of the fluid out of the tubes) whether they are open or closed off due to disease or a sterilization procedure.

The tubal reananstomosis surgery is immediately preceded by a laproscopy. A laproscopy procedure is a surgical procedure in which a slender, light-transmitting instrument, the laproscope is used to view the pelvic organs or to perform surgery. The laproscopy is done to determine if the fallopian tubes are long enough to warrant a tubal reanastomosis procedure. If there is enough fallopian tube, a laprotomy is performed in which a small incision is made in the lower abdomen so that the fallopian tubes can be operated on microscopically. While viewing the fallopian tube through an operating microscope, the area of the fallopian tube that is closed off is removed and the two ends of the tube are sewn back together with very fine suture to obtain tubal patency.

Following the surgery, the couple is advised to use a form of contraceptive for 3 months so the tubes can heal properly before trying to get pregnant.

Assuming that the preoperative work-up is normal, other than the fallopian tubes being closed due to the sterilization procedure, and assuming that the tubes are normal, free of disease, and of adequate length, pregnancy rate using microsurgical techniques will vary between 25-40%.