We’re excited to expand the Center of Male Fertility by welcoming Dr. Russell Hayden, a urologist with a sub-specialty in male infertility and microsurgery, to the SGF medical team. Dr. Hayden is now scheduling new patient appointments at the Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania and Towson, Maryland offices, as well as additional SGF Pennsylvania locations.
In Dr. Hayden’s eyes, each patient is a person rather than a number. He prioritizes patient needs in a way that he would want to be treated if roles were reversed. It was during his graduate studies in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University where Dr. Hayden’s drive to work in an impactful field of medicine where an alignment of technology, precision, and creative problem solving manifested. Dr. Hayden then earned his medical degree from Harvard University.
He remained in Massachusetts to pursue his residencies in general surgery and urology from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Hayden then completed his fellowship in reproductive medicine and microsurgery at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. Coming from a family of tradesmen, Dr. Hayden takes pride in the levels of problem-solving urology requires, including the intricate and skill-heavy type of microsurgery that requires manipulation of tissue at magnifications as high as 25-fold, often with sutures finer than a human hair.
Dr. Hayden is a member of the American Urological Association, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, the Society for the Study of Male Reproduction, and the New York Academy of Sciences. He has published papers, written chapters, and presented several topics, including vestibular prostheses, azoospermia, metastatic prostate cancer, and more.
Originally trained as an electrical engineer, Dr. Hayden enjoys making small robots and other toys with his two sons in his garage in his spare time as well as spending family time outdoors.
Get to Know Dr. Russell Hayden
Where did your interest in reproductive endocrinology come from?
Dr. Hayden: Reproductive urology is a unique field that requires creative problem-solving at multiple levels. As a relatively young field of medicine, our understanding of male subfertility is continuously growing as new research surfaces. Lifelong learning and repeated engagement with the research literature are paramount to good patient care, and something I find rewarding. Additionally, reproductive urology relies on microsurgery as a means to correct some conditions. Microsurgery requires manipulation of tissue at magnifications as high as 25-fold, often with sutures finer than human hair. It is demanding surgery that requires a perfectionist attitude. Coming from a family of tradesmen, I take pride in this difficult and skill-heavy type of surgery, which has translated to my post-operative outcomes.
Describe a time you were inspired by a patient.
Dr. Hayden: One of my long-term patients is a young man who suffered a high spinal cord injury during a motor vehicle accident. He met his wife prior to the accident, then married and attempted to family build following the injury. Despite his significant injuries and full tetraplegia, they were able to achieve conception naturally and have maintained a healthy home for their new infant. I find his story particularly inspiring, as it reminds me that people can adapt and find fulfilling lives even with remarkable adversity.
Who inspires you?
Dr. Hayden: My thesis advisor during my graduate studies in biomedical engineering continues to serve as my principal role model in life. A family man, physician scientist, microsurgeon, and engineer, he has demonstrated the importance of pursuing impactful work while maintaining a work-life balance. The ambitious projects he has tackled reminds me that medical research requires both a long game and a focus on the practical problems at hand.
What’s on your bucket list?
Dr. Hayden: I would consider myself a tech enthusiast. Now that space tourism may actually become a reality, I would like to experience low-orbit in space one day.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Dr. Hayden: My family and I spend much of our free time doing outdoor activities like fishing and camping. Over the last year, we visited multiple national parks, including Yellowstone and Badlands National Park. We are also active amateur astronomers and carry our telescope on most of these trips to enjoy the night sky.
Receive Care at SGF’s Center for Male Fertility
Between 60 and 70 percent of the male population experience some issues with sexual health and fertility, so this growth provides more convenient access to premier fertility services for individuals and couples in search of reproductive help.
SGF’s Center for Male Fertility, offers a range of services provided Drs. Paul R. Shin, Cori Tanrikut, and Russell Hayden, including:
- basic evaluation and testing,
- state-of-the-art microsurgical techniques including varicocele repair, vasectomy reversal, and vasectomy, and
- sperm injection and extraction techniques that have nearly eliminated infertility among couples with a severe male factor.
When patients are diagnosed with a male factor, which is the cause of infertility in 40 to 50 percent of couples, an SGF urologist and reproductive endocrinologist work together to optimize treatment outcomes for patients. This integrated care model was designed to provide comprehensive male and female infertility services to ensure continuity of care and communication for both partners before, during, and after treatment.
Another advantage to the Center for Male Fertility at SGF is that patients outside of the practice may be referred directly to Drs. Shin, Tanrikut, and Hayden for diagnostic testing, evaluation, and/or treatment for male infertility or for SGF’s unique no needle, no-scalpel vasectomy services.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Hayden at the Chesterbrook or Towson offices, call the New Patient Center at 1-888-761-1967 or submit this brief online form.
