Specialist Tubal Surgeons

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MAY 2010 | The Triangle Physician

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Dr. Gary Berger - Practice makes perfect

Dr. Berger points to the lack of frequency with which physicians are trained to perform reproductive surgery and repair fallopian tubes, a situation documented in 2004 by the Journal of Fertility and Sterility. "Since the advent of assisted-reproductive technology, surgical training has markedly declined and there remain few fellowship programs in the United States with meaningful numbers of surgical cases," he explains.

As a consequence, Dr. Berger embraced the opportunity to pass on his techniques and experience to Dr. Monteith, who willingly left a successful ob/gyn practice to become a tubal reversal specialist. "Not many physicians have the opportunity to do 50 to 100 tubal reversals in a lifetime. We've already done over 8,000 cases. From a learning point of view, that is what you need to become an expert," says Dr. Berger. After microsurgery training at the Cleveland Clinic and a six-month training fellowship with Dr. Berger, Dr. Monteith joined the staff at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal in 2008.

Distinguished in medicine

Dr. Berger decided to specialize in tubal microsurgery in 1970 during his first year of OB/GYN residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He received his education at Harvard University, the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Duke University Hospital, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Centers for Disease Control and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In 1976, Dr. Berger went to England and Belgium to learn about tubal microsurgery, since there were no such programs in the United States at that time. He became a charter member of the Society of Reproductive Surgeons, and in 1979 he entered private practice wanting to create a center ideally suited for outpatient reproductive surgery. Dr. Berger has contributed to medical literature with more than 150 articles and numerous books on reproductive health, including one written for the public, called The Couple's Guide to Fertility. He first reported on his tubal reversal surgical technique, effectiveness and safety in 1992 in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine.

Dr. Charles Monteith

Dr. Monteith graduated with honors from Xavier University of Louisiana and the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine. While at UCSF, he was awarded a prestigious Howard Hughes fellowship to research molecular genetics. As an obstetrics and gynecology resident at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society, and was the recipient of many awards for resident and medical student teaching. During a seven-year tenure as a clinical assistant professorship with the UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, he worked in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wake Medical Hospital in Raleigh, N.C., and practiced high-risk obstetrics and advanced surgical gynecology.

Both Drs. Berger and Monteith are board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Berger's additional certifications in preventive medicine and epidemiology gave him the background to develop the center's unique patient database.

Getting started

According to Nurse Administrator Julia Smith, RN, ALNC, patients may be referred to Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center by their doctor, but most are self-referred when they learn about Dr. Berger through the Internet or The Learning Channel broadcasts.

"The starting point is having Dr. Berger review the operative report of their tubal ligation to see if tubal reversal surgery will be effective," she says. Dr. Berger's interpretation of the operative report is provided within 24 hours of receiving it.

Staff members are available seven days a week, 365 days of the year to answer inquiries online, by telephone or e-mail, and to follow up with any patients' questions, as well as their pregnancy reports that arrive daily.