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Double board-certified physicians are rare, but at Cherokee Women’s there are three (3) physicians  who are double board-certified in OB/GYN and the subspecialty FPMRS (Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, also known as urogynecology).  For women seeking the best care for urinary incontinence and pelvic prolapse, Cherokee Women’s is unique among private practices in the Southeast region, with its three urogynecology experts providing a powerful attraction for women who don’t have access to a board-certified urogynecologist in their area.

Dr. Michael Litrel, FACOG, FPMRS, comments, “With pelvic reconstructive surgery, there doesn’t seem to be any easy shortcut for experience and expertise – the same goes for cosmetic procedures, like labiaplasty or vaginoplasty. No matter what the pictures in the medical textbooks show, every woman’s anatomy is at least somewhat unique. Experience provides by far the best guide for identifying the correct surgical approach for a challenging reconstruction.”

With two office locations in north metro Atlanta, Cherokee Women’s Health is an attractive option for women seeking expert care, with their consultation appointment often only a short flight away, no matter what their home state.

In many cases, patients who travel to Cherokee Women’s offices for a consultation have seen several different doctors and specialists with no relief from their symptoms. Often, they have undergone surgery without good results. Botched labiaplasties, unsuccessful bladder repairs, pelvic prolapse that continues to be uncomfortable even after surgery: these are common scenarios that have caused women to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to see the expert physicians at Cherokee Women’s Health to get relief.

After seeing all of the recommended specialists in their area, patients will have exhausted their options locally and begin to look elsewhere for help. These patients are willing to travel if it means that they will be able to see a specialist who can help. Typically, these patients find out about Cherokee Women’s Health via an online search or through word of mouth. The physicians at Cherokee Women’s have consistently been recognized as top experts by their peers and by thousands of patients in online reviews. This recognition has helped to reassure prospective new patients of their expertise.

The final reason women travel to see their OB/GYN is the personal relationship they have formed with their doctor. A woman’s OB has often cared for her from the time she began GYN care in her teens, through the years of childbirth, and into the decades of menopause. Especially in caring for a woman throughout her pregnancy and delivering her child (or children) – a woman’s OB is a huge part of her lifetime events, creating a special bond between the woman and her physician that may be said not to exist in any other specialty.

Dr. James Haley, FACOG, FPMRS, states, “It’s pretty routine for a patient to move away but still return for her annual GYN care, especially if she has family or friends here – but sometimes even if she doesn’t. When we care for our patients, there are years of common shared memories, from the delivery of her child, to helping her with pain or hormone problems. The other day I had a patient travel from Mississippi to see me for her annual GYN exam. This really is not that unusual — we see this kind of thing every week.”