National Vulvodynia Association

Clinics Awarded an NVA Grant

 

Irvine and Tustin, California

Christina Kraus – University of California, Irvine
Dr. Kraus was awarded an NVA grant in 2021 to open a vulvar clinic at UC Irvine. It was opened in December of 2021 at the primary site in Tustin, CA. The vulvar clinic is open on Thursdays. Starting August 1, 2022 a vulvar clinic was opened Monday afternoons at the UC Irvine Gavin Herbert location. The clinics see the following patients: vulvodynia, lichen sclerosus, lichen planus, lichen simplex chronicus, vulvar pruritus, and inflammatory vaginitis (cytolytic vaginosis, etc.). They are working to establish clinical trials at the UC Irvine Gavin Herbert location. Patients will be enrolled in an IRB-approved vulvar disease registry and tissue samples (obtained for routine histopathologic diagnosis) will be collected to evaluate specific cellular and molecular compositions of vulvar disease, with the goal of identifying etiologic factors and diagnosing vulvar conditions earlier. Contact information for both clinics can be found below.

 

UC Irvine Health, Tustin
1451 Irvine Blvd. Tustin CA 92780
Phone: (714) 838-8878

UC Irvin Health, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute
850 Health Sciences Rd, Irvine CA 92617
Phone: (949) 824-2020

 

San Diego, California

Erin Gross, MD – University of California San Diego
Vulvar pain affects millions of women in the United States negatively impacting their physical, sexual and emotional well-being. Her project was to institute a vulvar specialty clinic at the University of California, San Diego to provide focused care for this patient population. The establishment of this clinic will offer the opportunity to improve and explore future options for management. This clinic will also act as a hub for collaboration between Gynecology, Psychiatry, and Anesthesia/Pain to provide comprehensive care for these complex conditions. In the establishment of a specialized, multidisciplinary clinic, she aims to improve patient care outcomes and satisfaction as well as provide opportunities for clinical research and resident education. (Funded by NVA Marinoff Award).

For more information on the clinic, please go to the following link: https://health.ucsd.edu/care/gynecology/vulvar-pain/

 

Flint, Michigan

Theodore Fellenbaum, MD – Mid-Michigan Vulvar Care & Colposcopy Center  Dr. Fellenbaum was awarded a grant in 2006 to organize a community-based vulvodynia clinic that also promotes resident physician education. The Genesys Medical Center demonstrated its commitment to establishing a vulvar pain clinic by matching the amount of NVA’s grant. Dr. Fellenbaum is collaborating with members of the Genesys obstetric & gynecologic residency program and the Genesys Medical Education Department. The goals of this collaboration are: to screen, diagnose and treat genital pain disorders of unknown etiology, to provide a heretofore absent local rotation in genital pain for Genesys and other hospital Ob/Gyn Resident physicians and medical students, to provide educational lectures to other medical disciplines, and to establish a means for ongoing educational training and academic research on vulvodynia. (Funded by NVA Medical Research Fund).

For more information on the clinic, please go to the following link https://flintobgyn.com/.

 

Rochester, New York

Mitchell Linder, MD – University of Rochester Medical Center
Mitchell Linder, M.D., assistant professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center, completed his internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital. Along with his mentors Dr. David Foster, and Dr. Adrienne Bonham, Dr. Linder will apply his award to establishing an integrated vulvar/chronic pain specialty clinic at the University of Rochester. Relying on specialists including those in lower genital tract disorders, minimally invasive gynecologic pain, pelvic floor physical therapists, behavioral health, CT guided nerve blocks, as well as the university’s urogynecologists and a team of dedicated and trained nurses and support staff, they will develop an integrated, team-based approach to the assessment and treatment of these patients. The goal of this initiative will be to focus on functional improvements in outcomes as measured using the PROMIS platform (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System). For more information on PROMIS, go to http://www.healthmeasures.net/explore-measurement-systems/promis. (Funded by NVA Marinoff Award).

For more information on the clinic, please go to the following link: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/ob-gyn/obstetrics-and-gynecology-practice/gynecology.aspx.

 

Nashville, Tennessee

E. Cristian Campian, MD – Saint Thomas Health Services (Nashville, TN)
Dr. Campian, then a fellow in urogynecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery at Saint Thomas Health Services, used his NVA Marinoff award, matched by Baptist Hospital in Nashville, to establish a multidisciplinary vulvar pain clinic at Saint Thomas Health Services’ Center for Pelvic Health, the largest pelvic pain clinic serving mid-Tennessee, southern Kentucky and northern Alabama. In addition to improving women’s access to specialized clinicians in the region, Dr. Campian’s long-term goal is to collaborate with other vulvar pain centers in applying for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. In an effort to promote earlier diagnosis and timely treatment, he gave lectures on vulvar pain to primary care physicians in the area. This clinic opened in April 2009 and women interested in making an appointment can call 615-284-4664 or visit: www.centerforpelvichealth.org. (Funded by NVA Marinoff Award).

 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Danielle Tonelli, DO – Aurora Women’s Pavilion, Wisconsin 
Danielle Tonelli, DO, a fellowship-trained women’s health specialist with board certification in family medicine, received an NVA grant in early 2010 to start a vulvar pain clinic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Tonelli currently serves as co-clinical director of the Center for Optimal Health and Wellness at the Aurora Women’s Pavilion (AWP) in Milwaukee. AWP showed its support of her work by matching the NVA’s grant. Dr. Tonelli will develop and implement educational programs for local women with vulvodynia as well as medical professionals. “With the establishment of the AWP Vulvar Pain Clinic, women in our community and their providers will now have a local center with a full range of services, from outreach and education to compassionate patient care,” says Dr. Tonelli.”(Funded by NVA Medical Research Fund).

For more information on the clinic, please go to the following link: https://www.aurorahealthcare.org/services/womens-health/aurora-womens-pavilion/.

 

Rehovot, Israel

Ahinoam Lev-Sagie, MD – Hadassah University Hospital (Israel)
Dr. Lev-Sagie,an obstetrician-gynecologist at Hadassah University Hospital, spent several years in the United States training as a specialist in vulvovaginal disorders under Drs. Paul Nyirjesy, Steven Witkin and Lynette Margesson. Currently, she directs a vulvar pain clinic at Hadassah.

For more information on the clinic, please go to the following link: https://vclinic.co.il.

 

 

Lublin, Poland

Ewa Baszak-Radomanska, MD, PhD – TERPA Offices (Poland)
Dr. Baszak-Radomanska established the first dedicated vulvar pain clinic in Po­land with the help of NVA funding. Specifically, the NVA’s funding assisted the clinic staff in serving low-income patients, as well as provid­ing multidisciplinary medi­cal care to women suffering from vulvodynia and related pelvic pain disorders. Dr. Baszak-Radomanska is also the founder of the Women Without Pain Foundation, whose mission is to raise awareness of neglected pain disorders, educate and train medical professionals and improve medical care provided to women suffering from these conditions in Po­land.

For additional information, please visit www.terpa.eu/. (Funded by NVA Marinoff Award).

 

 

Other Clinics

 

 

San Diego, California

 

Irwin, Goldstein, MD- San Diego  Sexual Medicine

Dr. Irwin Goldstein is the director of San Diego Sexual Medicine (his clinical practice) and Director of Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital. He is Clinical Professor of Surgery as well as Voluntary Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences at University of California at San Diego. Dr. Goldstein provides medical help to individuals with sexual problems, and has been involved with sexual dysfunction research since the late 1970′s. The following is a list of conditions treated at the clinic:

 

Hagerstown, Maryland

 

Neil Rosenshein, MD – Meritus Health

Neil Rosenshein, M.D., a doctor at Meritus Gynecologic Oncology Specialists, treats women with gynecologic cancers including ovarian, uterine, cervical, vaginal and vulvar. Additionally offering care for vulva disorders and abnormalities, including the following conditions:

 

 

 

Vulvar Intraepithelial Neoplasm
Vulvar Cancer
Extramammary Paget’s Disease
Melanoma in situ
Melanoma
Lichen Sclerosus
Lichen Planus
Vulvar Dermatosis
Vulvodynia
Pudenal Neuralgia

For more information or to contact the clinic, please go to the following link https://www.meritushealth.com/services/gynecologic-oncology

 

New York City; Tampa, Florida; Washington, DC

 

Dr. Andrew  T. Goldstein, MD – The Centers for Vulvovaginal Disorders

In 2002 Dr. Goldstein became the Director of the Centers for Vulvovaginal Disorders in Washington, D.C and New York City. He is currently a Clinical Professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Goldstein is involved in research and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, and book chapters on female sexual dysfunction, sexual pain disorders, lichen sclerosus, lichen simplex chronicus, vulvodynia, and vulvar vestibulitis syndrome (vestibulodynia). He has co-authored/co-edited four books and has provided lectures on the subjects of vulvodynia, vulvar disease, and female sexual dysfunction. The following is a list of conditions treated at the clinic:

 

Vulvodynia
Vulvar Vestibulitis
Lichen Sclerosus
Lichen Planus
Lichen Simplex Chronicus
Hypertonic Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction
Chronic Candidiasis
Bacterial Vaginosis
Endometriosis
Interstitial Cystitis
Desquamative Inflammatory Vaginitis (DIV)
Human Papiloma Virus (HPV)
Vulvar Intraepithelial Neoplasia (VIN)
Herpes and Post-Herpetic
Pudendal Neuralgia
Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD)
Clitoral Pain
Decreased Libido (Diminished Sex Drive)
Decreased Arousal or Decreased Orgasm
Chronic Pelvic Pain
Plasma Cell Vulvitis
Aphthous Ulcers/Behcet’s Disease
Pruritis Vulvae (Vulvar Itching)
Vulvar Granuloma Fisuratum (Recurrent Tearing of the Vulva)

For more information or to contact the clinics, please go to the following link https://vulvodynia.com/contact