Steven D. Spandorfer, M.D.

About

Autologous endometrial coculture is not mainstream IVF. The technique takes cells from the patient’s own uterine lining, grows them into a feeder layer, and cultivates embryos on top of that living surface — essentially returning a stubborn embryo to the tissue it failed to build in. Most clinics abandoned the idea. Weill Cornell’s Center for Reproductive Medicine kept a program, and Steven D. Spandorfer, M.D. has been its clinical coordinator, the physician responsible for deciding which patients — poor embryo quality, repeated failed cycles — are candidates and running them through it.

His claim on the program is scholarly as much as administrative: he authored the research showing that endometrial coculture aids embryo maturation and improves IVF success rates in exactly those patients, work he calls groundbreaking in his own center’s summary of him. Current research interests stay in the same terrain: embryo implantation, multiple failed IVF cycles, and uterine and endometrial development. He has presented more than 100 abstracts at national and international meetings and published in leading reproductive medicine journals.

The rest of his practice is the standard of care around the exception: comprehensive treatment of reproductive disorders, IVF and ovulation induction, and skilled laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery for the uterine and pelvic pathology — polyps, adhesions, fibroids, endometriosis — that implantation failure often traces back to. He trained through Emory (Phi Beta Kappa 1984, M.D. 1988 with Alpha Omega Alpha), a Navy internship at Portsmouth, Virginia, and residency at the University of Pennsylvania, then did his REI fellowship at CRM and joined its faculty in 1998. He has been at the same Upper East Side office ever since.

Clinical Expertise

• Autologous Endometrial Coculture: The Center’s clinical coordinator for this rescue technique in poor-embryo-quality and repeat-failure cycles; published evidence base is his own
• IVF for Previous Failures: Systematic redesign of stimulation, insemination and transfer strategy after unsuccessful cycles
• Hysteroscopic Surgery: Septum, polyp, submucous fibroid and adhesion correction aimed at the uterine causes of implantation failure
• Laparoscopic and Minimally Invasive Surgery: Endometriosis, tubal disease and pelvic pathology treated with fertility-preserving technique
• Ovulation Induction and Cycle Monitoring: PCOS and ovulatory dysfunction managed from first-line treatment up
• Endometrial and Uterine Development Research: Active investigation of the lining’s biology — the reasoning layer under his transfer decisions

Why Choose Dr. Spandorfer

A career inside one program. He joined CRM’s faculty in 1998 after training there; the lab standards, embryology team and outcome data he practices against are ones he helped build and studied on institutional-review work at the center.

He owns the niche when niches matter. Repeat-failure patients are routinely told nothing more can be tried. Coculture is a real, supervised option at CRM precisely because he coordinates it and published its supporting data.

Medical and surgical care in one pair of hands. Diagnostic hysteroscopy, laparoscopic correction and the IVF cycle that follows do not require two physicians.

Recognized beyond fertility. Memberships spanning ASRM, SART and The Endocrine Society reflect an endocrinology depth the surgical sub-specialists often lack; awards include the U.S. Navy Achievement Medal and the CREOG National Faculty Award.

Professional Affiliations

Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; double board-certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology and The Endocrine Society. Associate Attending Obstetrician/Gynecologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Suitable For

• Patients after multiple failed IVF or transfer cycles: The program built for them is the one he coordinates
• Poor embryo quality across cycles: Coculture candidacy evaluation by the author of its supporting research
• Suspected uterine-factor infertility: Thin or hostile lining, adhesions, polyps or septum — investigated hysteroscopically and treated before transfer
• Endometriosis and pelvic pathology needing surgery first: Minimally invasive correction sequenced directly into ART planning
• Ovulation disorders: PCOS and anovulation managed with monitored induction before or between IVF attempts
• Insurance-carrying Manhattan patients: His practice lists acceptance of Cigna, Aetna, Empire BCBS, the NYS Empire Plan, Oxford and United Healthcare