Dr. Christopher PayneDr. Christopher Payne, one of the best interstitial cystitis and pelvic pain specialists in the world, has announced that he is leaving Stanford Hospital at the end of March 2014 to go into private practice. During his remarkable tenure at the Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Payne has been a veritable lifeline for thousands of IC patients who were referred to his clinic by urologists in the region. Patients not only appreciate his kindness and compassion, but also his balanced approach to treating IC and chronic pelvic pain.

As Stanford’s Director of Female Urology, Urodynamics and Neurourology, Dr. Payne introduced medical students to the unique and challenging world of chronic pelvic and urological pain. He was a principle investigator for several National Institutes of Health funded IC studies and has travelled extensively to Europe, Asia and Australia to train other medical care providers. He and his wife recently spent a year in Nairobi, Kenya providing medical care and developing new surgical techniques for women struggling with vesicovaginal fistulas.

Dr. Payne was one of the first to recognize the role of the pelvic floor muscles in contributing to bladder dysfunction and his diagnostic skills saved more than a few patients from having inappropriate surgeries and treatments. As the regions IC support group leader, I knew that when I referred patients to Dr. Payne that they would receive an outstanding diagnostic workup and, more importantly, a logical treatment plan and approach.

Jeannette Potts MDThe great news is that Dr. Payne is uniting with his wife, Dr. Jeannette Potts, to form a new medical group specializing in pelvic pain. As a former member of the prestigious Glickman Urologic & Kidney Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Potts is widely recognized for her expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic genitourinary pain syndromes, particularly male pelvic pain. Like Dr. Payne, Dr. Potts has been a featured speaker at conferences around the world and has more than 40 publications and abstracts.

Their new practice, Vista Urology & Pelvic Pain Partners will begin seeing patients in June of 2014. It will be located in Los Gatos, California.

I hope that you will join me in saying {{{Thank You}}} to Dr. Payne for his service to IC patients for the past twenty years. He is a remarkable man who, when few others believed that IC was real, treated patients with dignity and respect. He has dedicated a significant part of his career to researching IC and possible new therapies. We, the IC community, are grateful for his work AND wish him the best in his new endeavors!

– Jill Osborne MA
President & Founder
Interstitial Cystitis Network