Samantha M. Pfeifer, M.D.

About

In 2021 the American Society for Reproductive Medicine retired its long-standing classification of congenital uterine anomalies and published a new one. The lead author of that standard — MAC2021, the system sonographers, surgeons and IVF programs now use to name a septate, bicornuate or hypoplastic uterus and decide whether to operate — is Samantha M. Pfeifer, M.D., a professor at Weill Cornell’s Center for Reproductive Medicine.

That is the shorthand for a career spent on the surgical edge of reproductive endocrinology. Before CRM she was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where she directed the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, the department’s residency program and the medical student clerkship — three leadership roles that earned her ACOG’s Mentor of the Year and APGO’s teaching excellence award. She came to CRM after Penn and holds the same dual role here: complex uterine surgery plus the IVF, ovulation induction and egg-freezing practice that surrounds it.

Her credentials outside Penn are institutional. She served as President of the Society for Reproductive Surgeons and Chair of ASRM’s Practice Committee; the Society’s Distinguished Surgeon Award — given for surgical and scholarly contribution to reproductive surgery — carries her name from the years it was awarded. She has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and numerous book chapters, lectures nationally and internationally, and appears regularly on Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors lists. She holds her primary clinic at CRM’s Tribeca office.

Clinical Expertise

• Müllerian Anomalies / Congenital Uterine Malformations: The diagnostic framework used worldwide was authored under her leadership; hysteroscopic and laparoscopic correction of septate and other anomalous uteri
• Reproductive Surgery: Minimally invasive laparoscopic and hysteroscopic treatment of fibroids, adhesions, endometriosis and tubal disease
• IVF and Ovulation Induction: Stimulation-to-transfer management, with surgical correction sequenced into the ART plan
• Fertility Preservation / Egg Freezing: Oocyte cryopreservation counseling and cycles
• Adolescent Gynecology and Menstrual Disorders: Hormonal evaluation of teens — an explicit clinical interest carried into her patient material
• Guideline Authorship: MAC2021 and ASRM committee work mean her operative decisions track her own published standards

Why Choose Dr. Pfeifer

She wrote the classification your diagnosis depends on. If an ultrasound has told you that your uterus is septate, bicornuate or otherwise anomalous, the vocabulary of that report comes from the standard she led. Few patients ever get the chance to be treated by the author of the guideline.

Surgeon of the year energy, recognized by surgeons. The Distinguished Surgeon Award from ASRM’s Society for Reproductive Surgeons — and its presidency — places her inside the top tier of a very small specialty.

She has run three training programs at once. Division director, residency program director and clerkship director at Penn: patients benefit from a clinician accountable for how procedures should be taught and done.

Committee-level influence. Past Chair of ASRM’s Practice Committee shaped the society’s guidance during her tenure; Castle Connolly rankings have listed her repeatedly alongside it.

Professional Affiliations

Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; past President, Society for Reproductive Surgeons; past Chair, ASRM Practice Committee; American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Double board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Attending Obstetrician/Gynecologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Awards include ACOG Mentor of the Year, APGO Excellence in Teaching Award, CREOG National Faculty Award, and the SRS Distinguished Surgeon Award.

Suitable For

• Women diagnosed with a uterine anomaly: Septate, bicornuate or combined malformations evaluated and corrected by the author of the classification standard
• IVF patients with a surgical obstacle: Fibroids, adhesions, polyps or endometriosis handled by a surgeon who also directs the ART cycles afterward
• Egg freezers wanting a subspecialist: Preservation cycles managed by a professor of reproductive medicine, based in Tribeca
• Teenagers with menstrual and hormonal concerns: An active interest in adolescent gynecology, rare among fertility surgeons
• Second-opinion seekers on surgery recommendations: Whether to operate before transfer is exactly the question her committee work and MAC2021 were written to answer