Dr. Turek's Blog

How to Follow the Olympics

They are upon us: the games of the 30th modern Olympiad in London. I know you can’t wait to see the 100-meter sprint crown the fastest man in the world. Or see if anyone can best Michael Phelp’s record of most gold medals achieved in a single Olympics (8). But, whatever you do, don’t watch the […]

IVF and Cancer: Guiliana’s Baby

“Does IVF cause cancer?” I see many patients from around the world with the severest forms of male infertility who as a couple need in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive and I am asked this question all the time. It’s an issue that I have been thinking about for 15 years, since I first entered […]

How to Roast a Marshmallow

Place on a long stick and rotate marshmallow evenly within the orange flame of the campfire. If it catches fire, blow it out. Continue roasting until outer skin of marshmallow bubbles and turns brown. Eat off of stick. Outside should be crusty brown and the inside should spill like white liquid silk. An American Experience […]

Read But Don’t Believe

Great news! Feel free to smoke. Drink as much booze as you want. Gain as much weight as you like. And feel free to indulge in whatever recreational drugs you can find. Have at it! None of these will affect your semen quality if you are trying to conceive. At least that’s what we are […]

Not Everything is a Nail

The Case of the Month is an actual patient from The Turek Clinic. He was 33 years old and presented to the Clinic with a 2-year history of infertility. His wife was also 33 years old and she was evaluated early on and cleared by her doctor. He came to me alone, and the first […]

A Place Where Paths Cross

Happy Father’s Day to those whose lives have been enriched with children. And for those among us who want to be fathers, but cannot, I salute you as well and offer you a gift. It’s not a tie or cufflinks, but rather a place to tell your story and find solutions: The Turek Clinic Support […]

To Fathers and Fathers To Be

“A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be.” Now there’s the essence of fatherhood. I have a similar albeit less poignant story about what it means to be a father. The Immortal Cinderella When my daughter was little, she had a plastic Cinderella statue that she […]

Go Ahead, Have a Heart

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

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

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 […]