The Western Pennsylvania Hospital
Department Of Obstetrics And Gynecology
From routine gynecologic examinations and high-risk obstetrical services to urogynecologic treatment and advanced surgical procedures, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology offers advanced and compassionate care to women, children and infants. The Department's obstetricians and gynecologists provide comprehensive care throughout all stages of a woman's life.
The Department is organized into six separate divisions, each offering unique experiences in the medical field of Obstetrics and Gynecology:
With more than 2,200 births annually, The Western Pennsylvania Hospital is the region's second largest maternity hospital and a major regional referral center for obstetrics. In addition, the medical facility is recognized as one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals® for the third consecutive year by the Solucient Institute - one of the nation's most recognized sources of health care information for employers, insurers and providers.
The Resident Experience
Continuing in its tradition of providing strong programs for the education of graduate physicians, The Western Pennsylvania Hospital offers a distinguished residency program in obstetrics and gynecology. Three residents per year are chosen to participate in the program, which lasts four years.
Residents are responsible for the care and management of both teaching service and private patients. Residents rotate through each service in two-month blocks, assuming additional responsibilities as they progress through their training, with seniors acting as chief of each service. Services consist of benign gynecology, obstetrics, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, urogynecology and pelvic floor reconstruction, maternal/fetal medicine, and gynecologic oncology. Primary care training is achieved via rotations in family practice, emergency medicine, endocrinology, pathology, neonatal intensive care, and anesthesia.
The Western Pennsylvania Hospital remains in compliance with the ACGME's 80-hour duty week regulations. A night float rotation is mandatory for first, second and third year residents, and average senior resident on-call time is approximately five nights per month.
As employees of The Western Pennsylvania Hospital, residents are offered numerous benefits, including:
- Professional liability insurance
- Educational seminars and scholarly materials
- Paid time-off during years 2-4 for conference attendance
- Complimentary parking services
- On-call living quarters and meal allowance
- Flexible benefits, including health care, dental, life/dependent life insurance, accidental death/dismemberment insurance, long/short-term disability, flexible spending accounts, counseling/support services and Employee Health services)
- Employee Assistance Program
- Holiday, sick and vacation time
- Leaves of absence benefits
- Access to on-side daycare facilities
- Protected didactic time
- Annual resident retreat
- Two complimentary lab coats
In addition to their training, residents play an important role in the education and supervision of family practice and medical residents, as well as third and fourth year medical students rotating through the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. At the conclusion of training, obstetric and gynecology residents are well prepared to independently manage ambulatory patients, perform basic and complex gynecologic procedures, and care for patients with both conventional and challenging obstetric and gynecologic needs.
Divisions
Division of Gynecology
The Division of Gynecology offers a full-range of medical and surgical services to pediatric, adolescent and adult patients. Physicians of the Division are specially trained to perform the most advanced medical and minimally invasive procedures.
The Division of Gynecology offers the following medical procedures:
- Abnormal Pap smear evaluation and treatment
- Advanced treatment for infrequent or irregular menstrual periods, ovarian cysts or masses, and vaginal or uterine abnormalities
- Contraceptive management
- Medical/surgical management of pelvic pain and endometriosis
- Menopausal health/hormone replacement therapy
- Treatment of sexually transmitted diseases
The Division of Gynecology offers the following minimally invasive surgical procedures:
- Abdominal and vaginal gynecologic surgery
- Advanced laparoscopy
- Alternatives to hysterectomy
- Colposcopy
- Cone biopsy for abnormal Pap smears
- Cryotherapy
- Hysteroscopy
- LEEP (loop electrosurgical excision procedure)
- Vaginoscopy
Faculty
Michael J. Bonidie, M.D., FACOG
Director, Division of Urogynecology and Pelvic Floor Reconstruction
Aurora M. Miranda, M.D.
Director, Ambulatory Obstetrics and Gynecology Program
Ambulatory Obstetrics and Gynecology Program
West Penn's Ambulatory Obstetrics and Gynecology Program is staffed by a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist who is also a member of the Hospital's full-time faculty, as well as board certified obstetric and gynecology private practice groups. Junior and senior residents from the Departments of Family Practice, Internal Medicine and Surgery rotate through the Program to gain important experience in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.
Consultations with the faculty practice and with all of the outpatient services of the Departments of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Radiology and the Emergency Department are available at all times.
The mission of the Ambulatory Obstetrics and Gynecology Program is to provide a service oriented continuing care clinic for the patients the Hospital serves, as well as to offer clinical obstetric management and office and practice management training to residents.
The Ambulatory and Obstetrics Gynecology Program offers the following services:
- Pediatric, adolescent, reproductive, menopausal and geriatric gynecologic care
- General obstetrics and gynecology
- Family planning
- High-risk obstetric care
- Colposcopy
- Reproductive endocrinology and infertility services
- Urogynecology services
- Gynecologic oncology care
- Minor gynecologic surgery
- Level I ultrasound
Faculty
Aurora M. Miranda, M.D.
Director, Ambulatory Obstetrics and Gynecology Program
Division of Gynecologic Oncology
Above all, the goal of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology is to provide "total care" to women. While the choice of treatment depends largely on the stage of the cancer, the Division is dedicated to evaluating other factors, including a woman's age, general health, individual circumstances, preferences, and personal considerations. From diagnosis, to treatment therapies, to follow-up care, and even end-of-life care, the Division provides patients with the most compassionate, quality care available.
The Division offers experimental drug therapies and the opportunity to participate in clinical trials through the CTSU (Cancer Trials Support Unit) - a service of the National Cancer Institute. The Division also evaluates abnormal Pap smears referred from its screening program.
The Division of Gynecologic Oncology offers the following advanced services:
- Cancer prevention and education
- Complete radiation oncology therapy
- Immunotherapy
- Inpatient/outpatient chemotherapy
- Medical therapy
- Minimally invasive, laser, reconstructive and complex surgical procedures including radical pelvic surgery and treatment protocols
- Multidisciplinary tumor board participation
- Research into the development of a therapeutic vaccine for cervical cancer
In addition, extensive research is being conducted to identify the viral antigens that will produce cellular immune responses to cancerous cells in the human body. Clinical trials of a therapeutic cervical cancer vaccine began in the summer of 2000. The researchers have also created a prophylactic vaccine which they believe will prevent the development of cervical cancer.
Faculty
Gregorio Delgado, M.D., FACOG
Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Eileen Segreti, M.D., FACOG
Director, Division of Gynecologic Oncology
Division of Maternal/Fetal Medicine
The Western Pennsylvania Hospital is a major perinatal tertiary referral center for the tri-state region. Of the 2,200 births annually at the Hospital, approximately 40% of the obstetric cases involve high-risk patients, and more than 500 maternal and neonatal transports are received each year.
West Penn Hospital offers 15 state-of-the-art Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum (LDRP) suites to its patients. The spacious rooms combine the comforts of home with the latest in technology to accommodate all of the needs of a new mother and her family. The suites are fully equipped to provide care - including critical care - for mother and infant. Should an emergency arise, the LDRPs are adjacent to three operating rooms and the Hospital's 40-bed Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
The Division of Maternal/Fetal Medicine is one of progressive learning. Rounds are held on a daily basis with faculty and the attendings. Teaching is done both in a didactic and preceptor-type fashion. All members of the obstetric team are involved in teaching their peers. In addition, the physicians and residents of the Division are actively involved in research projects.
The Division of Maternal/Fetal Medicine offers the following special services:
- Antenatal and antepartum testing
- Care for fetal abnormalities or fetal growth restriction
- Fetal therapy, including fetal blood transfusion
- Fetal surgery
- Management of diabetes and hypertension in pregnancy
- Management of pre-term labor or birth and premature rupture of membranes
- Targeted fetal ultrasound
- Treatment for medical complications or multiple gestations
Faculty
Mark Caine, M.D., FACOG
Chief, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Jorge Lodeiro, M.D.
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
The Western Pennsylvania Hospital is home to the Jones Institute at West Penn Allegheny Health System. Patient offices for the Institute are located at West Penn Hospital and the laboratories are housed at Allegheny General Hospital - one of the member hospitals of West Penn Allegheny Health System.
The first of its kind in Pittsburgh, the Jones Institute at West Penn Allegheny Health System, an affiliate of the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine of Eastern Virginia Medical School, is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, using the most advanced techniques. The Institute is a leader in providing comprehensive diagnoses and treatments to couples with documented infertility (approximately 14% of American couples) through a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, with laboratory and genetic support.
The Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility offers the following diagnostic infertility services:
- Assessment of eggs, ovulation, cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes
- Assessment of male infertility
- Evaluation for adhesions or endometriosis
The Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility offers the following state-of-the-art infertility treatments:
- Assisted embryo hatching
- Blastocyst transfer
- Egg donation
- Egg retrieval
- Embryo cryopreservation
- Embryo transfer
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
- In vitro fertilization (IVF)
- Laser laparoscopy
- Microsurgery
- Ovulation induction
- Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)
Faculty
Scott Kauma, M.D.
Program Director, Jones Institute at West Penn Allegheny Health System
Suzanne Kavic, M.D.
Clinical Program Director and Director of Egg Donation,
Jones Institute at West Penn Allegheny Health System
Division of Reproductive Genetics
The Division of Reproductive Genetics offers genetic counseling and comprehensive prenatal diagnostic testing. The Division is staffed by a physician who is board certified in obstetrics/gynecology and clinical genetics, as well as board certified genetic counselors.
The Division also provides genetic, environmental and occupational history assessments. Genetic assessments are combined with targeted testing approaches to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of prenatal diagnostic testing.
The Division of Reproductive Genetics offers the following special services:
- Amniocentesis
- Chorionic villus sampling
- DNA analysis
- Fetal therapy or surgery
- Fetal ultrasound evaluation
- Maternal serum screening and cytogenetic studies
Faculty
Christann L. Jackson, M.D., FACOG
Chief, Division of Reproductive Genetics
Division of Urogynecology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery
The Division of Urogynecology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery is dedicated to providing patients suffering from urogynecologic or pelvic floor conditions with the most individualized, comprehensive care available. A variety of urogynecologic and pelvic floor conditions are treated through the Division, including uterine and vaginal prolapse, cystocele, rectocele, enterocele, vaginal wall prolapse, female urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, and urge and stress prolapse. West Penn's goal is to provide support, hope and a better quality of life through treatments focused on the patient's individual needs and lifestyle.
The Division of Urogynecology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery offers the following techniques, including:
- Collagen injections
- Medication management
- Reconstructive surgery including:
- dermal graft pelvic floor reconstruction
- laparoscopic Burch/pelvic floor reconstruction procedures
- suburethral slings
- Urodynamic testing
Faculty
Michael J. Bonidie, M.D., FACOG
Director, Division of Urogynecology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery
For More Information
For further information regarding the residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology, please correspond with the administrative offices of the Department:
The Western Pennsylvania Hospital
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
4800 Friendship Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Phone: (412) 578-1129
Fax: (412) 578-4477
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