Dr. Sprock Connects with her Patients
George White / for FLORIDA TODAY May 30, 2012

Dr. Marja Sprock, Urogynecologist Central Florida Urogynecology

For Dr. Marja Sprock, her career choice for medicine — and choice of specialty — was something that came to her early in life.

“I wanted to be a doctor around age 13 or 14 and for a very short time I wanted to be a pediatrician,” she said. “But within a year, I decided I wanted to do OB/GYN and I never changed my mind.”

Some of the reasons are obvious, some not so much, she said.

“I think I can support women and understand them a little bit better just because of the fact I am a female and I was very interested in all the endocrinology of how the female body works. It’s fascinating. Right now I feel that I try to speak up for women and help them with embarrassing problems. I help with everything that people have a hard time talking about,’’ she said.

Dr. Sprock talks about her career and how she can improve the quality of life for many women.

QUESTION: Do your patients feel like they need to be isolated?
Sprock: That’s the whole thing. They can’t go out or they cancel every trip because they’re afraid that people will see their diapers or they’ll leak through.

Q: Has there been innovations that have come out during your career?
Sprock: Some things have improved, like a pelvic floor ultrasound. It’s a very expensive piece of equipment that really helps in diagnosis. Some people don’t empty completely or their bladders are too overactive. There are so many problems. That’s where you get the danger: it may work great for your neighbor but you may not have the same thing as your neighbor. What may be a big deal to one is not a big deal for another.

Q: What has been another innovation during your career?
Sprock: For people bothered by fecal incontinence, the Interstim device (surgically implanted pacemaker-like device) works for the bladder and even better for the bowel. It just normalizes their function.

Q: What about vaginal mesh and the controversy around its use?
Sprock: The whole thing about mesh I think is getting out of hand and getting to the ridiculous level. It’s about money. Lawyers don’t care about patients, they care about money. The problem is the (Food and Drug Administration) looks at devices. If you have your vagina fixed and it’s a lousy fix, who are you going to complain to? Now they have a device (mesh) and the FDA comes out with a warning that is not really based on solid literature, and all the lawyers jump on it. It’s a disservice to a lot of women. It’s very surgeon dependent. I do four or five a week, but there are some who just do one a month. Some people need it, some people do not, so you need to make sure it is appropriate to the patient.

Q: What are some of the other conditions that you treat?
Sprock: Vaginal prolapse repair, with or without mesh. I’ve been certified on robotic surgery since 2006 but I prefer to use the laparoscope.

Q: Are female OB/GYNs more accepted by patients when it come to these issues.
Sprock: Yes. Women prefer to be seen by a woman. It’s a big advantage. It’s the same about hormones and how you feel. It’s easier if you’re a woman.

Q: Is there a stigma about females being surgeons?
Sprock: Nobody said that to me, but, in general, I think it’s still the case. For a woman to be called a good surgeon you have to be five times better than the guys. That’s just a given. People can say it isn’t so, but it’s the truth.

Q: How important is pelvic function to quality of life?
Sprock: Some things are activity dependent. If you’re 30 and you have problems having sex, it bothers you more than if you are 80, but that doesn’t mean seniors are not sexually active.

Q: Do they become isolated?
Sprock: The problems can be very complicated and most people don’t know anything about it. They need to know there is help. You can fix people with simple things like pelvic floor exercises.

Q: Before these solutions came about, what did these patients do?
Sprock: With the Interstim, the field is progressing and people are talking about it a lot more. It’s not this forgotten thing.

Q: You treat people with the iLipo machine. How does it work?
Sprock: It’s a noninvasive way of getting rid of unwanted fat. There are no needles or downtime. It’s almost like a spa treatment where you lose inches. It’s a laser in pads and you can measure the different. What it does to a fat cell is that it goes from a grape to a raisin. It works and people are very pleased with it.

Q: What is your favorite part of your job?
Sprock: When people are really happy, after surgery or something simple like learning pelvic floor exercises. I like it when people are happy.

Q: What is difficult?
Sprock: Most of the physicians try their hardest and work really hard. Some patients have unrealistic expectations or they ask me to "fix them" but don’t have to contribute anything.

Central Florida UroGynecology is in Rockledge Florida. 

Call 321-806-3929 for an appointment or leave a note here.