Sexual Healing for
Both Partners at
Turner Medical Arts
Dr. Duncan Turner Has Plenty of Tricks up His Sleeve to Keep the Spark Alive
By Tyler Hayden
Read all of the entries in our “Self-Care in Santa Barbara, 2023 Edition” cover here.
Dr. Duncan Turner has been an OB/GYN in Santa Barbara for more than four decades, but it was only about seven years ago that his focus shifted to sexual health, both men’s and women’s. New menopause treatments were coming on the market at the time that prompted his multispecialty medical practice — Turner Medical Arts — to begin asking patients on their intake forms how satisfied they were with their sex lives. “That opened the floodgates,” said Turner. “That opened the door to talk about it.”
Turner started hearing from postmenopausal women about vaginal dryness and pain during intercourse, and from new mothers about pelvic floor weakness and urinary incontinence. For the first group he’s a big believer in hormone replacement therapy, or HRT. “The benefits of HRT outweigh the risks for almost everybody,” he explained. And for the second, the same type of muscle rejuvenation techniques used on the face and skin — i.e., laser and radiofrequency treatments — can now be applied to the vaginal canal. Electrical muscle stimulators that mimic Kegel exercises are another option. “We often use a combination of treatments,” said Turner. “I have so many patients whose lives are being changed by this.”
Recognizing it typically takes two to tango, Turner also treats men struggling with decreased libido and erectile dysfunction. “A lot of people just give up [on sex],” he said. “That’s a pity, because they are missing out on a big positive part of their lives. It makes both partners feel better.” Testosterone and other hormone therapies can be effective and are “very safe for the vast majority of men,” Turner said. Also available at his practice is shockwave therapy — “It’s not the slightest bit painful,” he promised — or what are called “p-shots,” injections of plasma directly into the penis. A new stem-cell derivative of the shot has just become available that research shows is “very promising,” Turner said.
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