Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Andrew Goldstein, an obstetrician and gynecologist and the director of the Center for Vulvovaginal Disorders in New York City and Washington DC, about his new randomized control trial studying laser therapy in lichen sclerosus (LS). Topics covered include reasons behind conducting the trial, methodology of the study, results…

In this week's episode Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Claire Danby, who is an obstetrician gynecologist at Maine Medical Center with a dedicated vulvovaginal clinic and a clinical assistant professor at Tufts University. Today they discuss desquamative inflammatory vaginitis (DIV). Topics covered include the definition of DIV, presentation, diagnostic cri…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Martha Goetsch who is a long-term researcher and clinician specializing in vulvar conditions at the Oregan Health and Sciences Unit. In this week's episode they discuss some of her recent research on estrogen in vulvar pain. Topics covered include the background and reasons for exploring this area, theories behind the cause …

This week Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Jacob Bornstein in his second episode with "The Vulva Diaries"! Dr. Bornstein is a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Israel, past president of the ISSVD and chair of the terminology committee, with extensive publications in vulvar disease. In this episode they discuss the terminology of vulvodynia. Topics c…

This week is part 2 of our two episode series on steroid therapy with Dr. Gayle Fischer. Dr. Fischer is a professor of Dermatology at the University of Sydney in Australia, and has written books and has many years of research experience in the area of vulvar dermatology and lichen sclerosus (LS). In this episode, Dr. Selk and Dr. Fischer discuss st…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Gayle Fischer in part 1 of our 2 episode series on steroid therapy. Dr. Fischer is a professor of Dermatology at the University of Sydney in Australia, and has written books and has many years of research experience in the area of vulvar dermatology and lichen sclerosus (LS). Topics covered include the importance of using lo…

In today's episode Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Jacob Bornstein, a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Israel, past president of the ISSVD and chair of the terminology committee, with extensive publications in vulvar disease. Today we are covering vestibulectomies -- what a vestibulectomy is, the history behind it's development, indications, it's …

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Gayle Fischer, a dermatologist at the University of Sydney in Australia and an expert in lichen sclerosus (LS), about new LS treatments. Topics covered include steroid treatment and why patients seek different treatments, new ancillary treatments and evidence behind them, patient counselling tips, post-procedural steroid use…

In another episode with Dr. Melissa Mauskar, a dermatologist from UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, her and Dr. Selk discuss pigmented vulvar lesions. Topics covered include types of vulvar pigmented lesions, mimickers of pigmented lesions, when to biopsy, vulvar melanoma, specific ways to biopsy melanomas, post-inflammatory hyperpig…

In this week’s episode Dr. Selk chats again with Dr. Jennifer Bradford, a gynecologist in Sydney, Australia with a tertiary care practice in vulvovaginal disease and co-author of “The Vulva” handbook. In this second episode covering lichen sclerosus and lichen planus with Dr. Bradford, they discuss how pregnancy can affect these conditions. Topics …

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Jennifer Bradford, who is a gynecologist in Sydney, Australia with an exclusive vulvovaginal practice and the co-author of the clinical handbook "The Vulva." This episode covers surgeries for scarring secondary to lichen planus and lichen sclerosus. Topics discussed include types of surgeries, pre-operative requirements, ane…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Sofia Torres, a gynecologist in Buenos Aires, Argentina, about cosmetic gynecology. Topics covered include types of cosmetic gynecologic procedures (surgical and non-surgical), why they've become more popular, who offers these procedures, evaluating patient motivations for undergoing these procedures, resources for patient e…

In her second feature on "The Vulva Diaries," Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Melissa Mauskar, a dermatologist at UT Southwestern Medial Center in Dallas, Texas, about issues that can occur with vulvar hair removal. Topics covered include hair removal methods, side effects from shaving, prevention of these side effects, reasons for vulvar hair removal, sid…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Michelle Jacobson, a gynecologist in Toronto, about graft versus host disease (GVHD). Topics covered include the definition of GVHD, counselling of stem cell transplant patients, assessing for genital GVHD, patient presentation, detecting GVHD in the context of menopause, physical features of genital GVHD, when to treat with…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Mario Preti, a gynecologist and oncologist in Torino, Italy and the past President of the International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD), about vulvar cancer. Topics covered include prevalence, demographics, types of vulvar cancer, risk factors and causes, how vulvar cancer patients present, what is seen…

This is our first patient interview episode! In this episode Dr. Selk interviews Clare Baumhauer, who is a patient with lichen sclerosus and vulvar cancer, a patient advocate for these conditions, and the co-founder of the UK Vulvar Cancer Awareness Group. Topics covered include Clare's patient journey, including her long road to diagnosis, reasons…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Sophie Bergeron, a professor of psychology at the University of Montreal, about the role of a psychologist in treating vulvovaginal disease patients. Topics covered include how psychologists can help vulvovaginal disease patients, what kind of therapy is used for these conditions, the evidence behind CBT for vulvar pain diso…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Melissa Mauskar, a dermatologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas Texas, about lichen planus. Topics covered include the definition of lichen planus, the different forms of lichen planus, prevalence, typical presentation, what to look for on exam, when and how to biopsy, and steps to take after you get a non-speci…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Debra Birenbaum, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, about genital warts. Topics covered include prevalence, diagnosis, treatment options and specific treatment methods, treating resistant bulky disease, when to biopsy, vaccination, treating warts in pregnancy, and treating im…

In Dr. Kristen Stewart's second episode, she and Dr. Selk discuss hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Dr. Stewart is a dermatologist in Jacksonville, Florida. Topics covered include prevalence, diagnosis (and why it takes so long for patients to get diagnosed with this condition), clinical presentation, common symptoms and patient complaints, causes of …

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Mark Yudin, an obstetrician gynecologist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto with a combined clinical and research fellowship in Reproductive Infectious Diseases, about genital herpes. Topics covered include prevalence of genital herpes, causes of herpes, typical presentations, how to test for it, treatment options, tips fo…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Lynne Margesson, a dermatologist at Dartmouth, about vulvar ulcers. Discussion topics include common causes of ulcers (infectious and non-infectious), syphilis ulcers, questions to ask on history, Behcet's disease, aphthous ulcers (simple and complex), vulvar manifestations of Crohn's disease, when to biopsy, treatment, how …

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Jill Allbritton, a dermatologist and dermatopathologist at the University of Maryland, and an expert in vulvar diseases. In this episode they discuss high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and differentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (dVIN). Topics covered include the definition of HSIL and dVIN, the sympt…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Tania Day, a gynecologist in Newcastle, Australia with a PhD in the pathology of lichen planus, about vulvovaginal pathology. Discussion topics include where to take biopsies and what areas to avoid, when to use different biopsy types, what to write on pathology requisitions, advantages of reading pathology descriptions, int…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Mary Lou Baxter, a dermatologist and the co-director of the gynaecology-dermatology clinic at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, about a variety of vulvovaginal conditions causing itch. The conditions discussed include psoriasis on the vulva (how it presents, incidence, diagnosis, and treatment) and vu…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. EJ Mayeaux, the chairman of the Department of Family and Preventative Medicine and professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Carolina, about lichen simplex chronicus (LSC). Topics covered include the definition of LSC, how common LSC is, diagnosis, what advice to give to patients, treatment options, c…

In this episode covering vulvodynia, Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Elizabeth Stewart, the co-founder and Director Emerita of the Vulvovaginal Service at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Atrius Health in Boston, the author of "The V Book", and co-creator of the educational website vulvovaginaldisorders.com. Topics discussed include the definition of v…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Leslie Sadownik for part two of our lichen sclerosus talks. Dr. Sadownik is a gynecologist and the director of The BC Centre for Vulvar Health in Vancouver. This is an advanced talk and covers what to do when the patient is not getting better, how to treat patients with pain that is not improving, new lichen sclerosus treatm…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Leslie Sadownik, a gynecologist from Vancouver and the director of The BC Centre for Vulvar Health, about lichen sclerosus. Topics discussed include common symptoms, demographics, how lichen sclerosus is diagnosed, differentiating between lichen sclerosus and lichen planus, indications for biopsy, treatment, and counselling …

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Luann Racher, a gynecologist from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, about vulvar cysts. Topics covered include what kinds of cysts can be found on the vulva, how to treat the different cyst types (Gartner's duct cysts, Bartholin gland cysts, Skene's duct cysts, and sebaceous cysts), risk of recurrence, treatme…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Marc Steben, a family physician and sexual health expert in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, about recurrent and persistent vaginitis. Topics discussed include defining recurrent and persistent vaginitis, how to assess these patients, causes of persistent symptoms, treatments, lab monitoring for patients on long-term prophylaxis, a…

Dr. Selk interviews Jessica Nargi, a pelvic physiotherapist in Toronto, Canada, about the utility of pelvic physiotherapy for vulvovaginal disease patients. Topics discussed include what pelvic physiotherapy involves (and the difference between pelvic and general physiotherapists), components of the initial pelvic physiotherapeutic assessment (incl…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Yolanda Kirkham, an obstetrician and gynecologist with a clinical fellowship in pediatric and adolescent gynecology at Women's College Hospital and St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto, about pediatric vulvovaginal disease. Topics discussed include common vulvar issues in young girls and their causes, taking a culture in ch…

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Michelle Jacobson, a menopause expert gynaecologist in Toronto, about treating vulvovaginal issues during and after menopause. Topics covered include changes in the vulva and vagina in menopause, counselling around local and systemic estrogen therapy (safety/when to use systemic therapy/combining therapies/choosing between v…

Dr. Selk chats with Julia Dmytryshyn, a medical student at the University of Toronto, and provides an introduction to vulvar diseases. Topics include basic principles with vulvar conditions, approach to diagnosis, how to do a biopsy, general advice for vulvar concerns (advice about using drug store products), counselling around topical steroid use,…

Dr. Selk chats with Dr. Nancy Phillips, a gynaecologist and director of the vulvovaginal clinic at Rutgers in New Jersey, about bacterial vaginosis (BV). Topics discussed include diagnosis of BV, treatments, counselling around metronidazole use, treating recurrences and preventative strategies.By Dr. Amanda Selk- OBGYN, President of the NA-ISSVD, Associate Professor

Dr. Selk interviews Dr. Caroline Mitchell, a gynaecologist and Director of the Vulvovaginal Health Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, about acute and recurrent yeast infections. Topics covered include diagnosis, definition of recurrent yeast, treatment, non-albicans yeast, steps in treating recurrent infection and modifiable risk f…

Dr. Amanda Selk interviews Dr. Kristen Stewart, a dermatologist in Jacksonville, Florida, about vulvovaginal itch. Topics covered include dermatology's role in vulvovaginal health, common causes of vulvovaginal itch, what questions to ask the patient and what to look for on physical exam, common vulvar irritants, treatment of vulvovaginal itch, and…