Anthony J. Schaeffer,
MD
Languages Spoken: English
As a pediatric urologists, Dr. Schaeffer specializes in diagnosing, managing, and repairing congenital birth defects and acquired conditions involving the male and female urinary and reproductive systems in children from pregnancy to 18 years. He performs surgery on the adrenal glands, kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra, penis, testicles, and the inguinal canal. Specific conditions he manages include swelling of the kidneys (hydronephrosis as a result of “UPJ” or “UVJ” obstruction), kidney stones, involuntary urinary leakage (urinary incontinence), Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs), reversed flow of urine from the bladder to the kidney (VesicoUreteral Reflux or VUR), poorly functioning bladders as a result of brain or spinal cord problems (neurogenic bladder), undescended testicles (cryptorchidism), swelling of the inguinal canal and/or scrotum (inguinal hernia and hydrocele), and penile curvature (chordee).
Dr. Schaeffer has extensive training from several of the world's foremost experts in complex urinary reconstruction. This experience has led to a strong interest in repairing the most complex genital and urinary birth defects in boys and girls. These conditions include the diagnosis, surgical repair, and long term management of genital ambiguity (Disorders of Sexual Differentiation (DSD), formerly known as intersex conditions), improperly formed urethras (hypospadias and epispadias), and major bladder reconstructions for those born with an open (bladder exstrophy) or poorly functioning (neurogenic) bladders.
Dr. Schaeffer believes that the care of one can lead to improved care for other future patients. Accordingly, he asks many patients to become involved with research that seeks to decrease the costs, improve the access, and better the outcomes of all patients.
Specialties
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments | Surgery
-
Assistant Professor |
| Academic Divisions | Urology |
Patient Rating
The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey.
Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.
Likelihood of recommending care provider
4.6/ 5
Care provider spoke using clear language
4.7/ 5
Care provider's explanation of condition/problem
4.7/ 5
My confidence in care provider
4.6/ 5
Care provider's effort to include me in decisions
4.6/ 5
Wait time at clinic
3.9/ 5
Time care provider spent with me
4.6/ 5
Care provider's concern for questions & worries
4.6/ 5
Care provider's friendliness and courtesy
4.6/ 5
Patient Comments
Patient comments are gathered from our Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survery and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.
UofU Patient
October 01, 2018
best doctor experience I've had in ten years.
UofU Patient
August 10, 2018
_____ feels very comfortable with Dr Schaeffer. We both feel that Dr Schaeffer truly cares and is concerned with _____'s heath.
UofU Patient
July 17, 2018
_____ feels very comfortable with Dr Schaeffer, which makes this process that much easier.
UofU Patient
March 03, 2018
Dr Schaeffer is phenomenal. we were incredibly picky and careful in picking the dr to be my son's dr, and we are so pleased with our choice. we would recommend him to anyone. he is meticulous, explains things well, and even gave us his # to text if concerns arose after my son's surgery. I can't even express fully our appreciation for Dr. Schaeffer.
UofU Patient
February 08, 2018
by far my favorite urology dr at Primary's
UofU Patient
December 06, 2017
I was very impressed with the amount of concern Dr. Schaeffer showed to my son.
UofU Patient
July 07, 2017
felt my concerns were not listened to nor my questions answered. felt very uncomfortable with the provider.
Dr. Schaeffer is a Health Services Research (HSR) in Pediatric Urology. Generally speaking, HSR seeks to study and optimize the cost, availability, delivery, quality, and outcomes of healthcare.
At present, his research focuses on improving the standard questionnaires given to children and caretakers of children with involuntary urinary leakage. This unique work aims to capture the child’s perspective as they experience urinary incontinence. He's hoping to answer questions like, What is it like to live with urinary incontinence? What matters most to children with incontinence?, and What, if anything, do they struggle with? This research includes children with anatomical and neurological reasons for leakage, as well as normal children who experience incontinence. This work is unique because previous research has investigated impacts of incontinence on children with one or two but not all three reasons for incontinence, and existing questionnaires seldom if ever include questions about aspects of incontinence that are identified by children.
A second major area of interest is on investigating the optimal care strategy and improving the delivery, costs, and outcomes for common urological conditions affecting Utah’s children like urinary tract infections (UTIs) and swelling of the kidney (hydronephrosis). Utah's captive population and Primary Children's Hospital's ability to care for the majority of the Intermountain West's pediatric patients makes this groundbreaking work possible.
Academic Locations
Primary Children's Hospital
801-662-5555
Primary Children's Hospital Outpatient Services at Riverton
801-662-5555
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments | Surgery
-
Assistant Professor |
| Academic Divisions | Urology |
Research Interests
- Bladder, Neurogenic
- Bladder Augmentation
- Bladder Calculi
- Bladder Exstrophy
- Hypospadias
- Incontinence
- Cost Allocation
- Cost-Effectiveness
- Delivery of Health Care
- Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation
- Development of the Constructs of the Perceived Quality of Life (PQOL) Measurement Instrument
Education History
| Fellowship | Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Urology Fellow |
| Graduate Training | Harvard School of Public Health Clinical Effectiveness M.P.H. |
| Chief Resident | Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Brady Urological Institute Urology Chief Resident |
| Residency | Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Brady Urological Institute Urology Resident |
| Internship | Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions Surgery Intern |
| Professional Medical | University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine Medicine M.D. |
| Research Fellow | National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute Cancer Research Research Fellow |
| Undergraduate | Northwestern University German B.A. |
Selected Publications - Journal Articles
Journal Article
- Kurtz MP, McNamara ER, Schaeffer AJ, Logvinenko T, Nelson CP (May 2015). Association of BMI and pediatric urologic postoperative events: results from pediatric NSQIP. J Pediatr Urol, 11(4), 224e1-6.
- McNamara ER, Kurtz MP, Schaeffer AJ, Logvinenko T, Nelson CP (May 2015). Morbidity after augmentation enterocystoplasty and appendicovesicostomy: A NSQIPP analysis. J Pediatr Urol, 11(4), 209e1-6.
- McNamara ER, Schaeffer AJ, Logvinenko T, Seager C, Rosoklija I, Nelson CP, Retik AB, Diamond DA, Cendron MA (May 2015). Management of proximal hypospadias with 2-Stage repair: 20 year experience. J Urol, 194(4), 1080-5.
- Schaeffer AJ, Johnson EK, Logvinenko T, Graham DA, Borer JG, Nelson CP (2014). Practice patterns and resource utilization for infants with bladder exstrophy: a national perspective. J Urol, 191(5), 1381-8.
- Schaeffer AJ, Sood S, Logvinenko T, Rivera-Castro G, Rosoklija I, Chow JS, Nelson CP (2014). Variation in the documentation of findings in pediatric voiding cystourethrogram. Pediatr Radiol, 44(12), 1548-56.
- Preece JP, Schaeffer AJ, Suson KD (2013). Pre-sacrococcygeal teratoma as an unusual cause of neonatal bladder outlet obstruction. Dialogues in Pediatric Urology, 24(3), 13.
- Schaeffer AJ, Stec AA, Baradaran N, Gearhart JP, Mathews RI (2013). Preservation of renal function in the modern staged repair of classic bladder exstrophy. J Pediatr Urol, 9(2), 169-73.
- Massanyi EZ, Shah B, Schaeffer AJ, DiCarlo HN, Sponseller PD, Gearhart JP (2013). Persistent vesicocutaneous fistula after repair of classic bladder exstrophy: a sign of failure? J Pediatr Urol, 9(6 Pt A), 867-71.
- Stec AA, Baradaran N, Schaeffer AJ, Gearhart JP, Matthews RI (2012). The modern staged repair of classic bladder exstrophy: a detailed postoperative management strategy for primary bladder closure. J Pediatr Urol, 8(5), 549-55.
- Schaeffer AJ, Yenokyan G, Alcorn K, Furth SL, Diener-West M, Wu AW, Gearhart JP, Dodson JL (2012). Health related quality of life in adolescents with bladder exstrophy-epispadias as measured by the Child Health Questionnaire-Child Form 87. J Urol, 188(5), 1924-9.
- Baradaran N, Stec AA, Schaeffer AJ, Gearhart JP, Mathews RI (2012). Delayed primary closure of bladder exstrophy: immediate postoperative management leading to successful outcomes. Urology, 79(2), 415-9.
- Schaeffer AJ, Feng Z, Trock BJ, Mathews RI, Neu AM, Gearhart JP, Matlaga BR (2011). Medical comorbidities associated with pediatric kidney stone disease. Urology, 77(1), 195-9.
- Ross AE, Marchionni L, Phillips TM, Miller RM, Hurley PJ, Simons BW, Salmasi AH, Schaeffer AJ, Gearhart JP, Schaeffer EM (2011). Molecular effects of genistein on male urethral development. J Urol, 185(5), 1894-8.
- Schaeffer AJ, Stec AA, Purves JT, Cervellione RM, Nelson CP, Gearhart JP (2011). Complete primary repair of bladder exstrophy: a single institution referral experience. J Urol, 186(3), 1041-6.
- Matlaga BR, Schaeffer AJ, Novak TE, Trock BJ (2010). Epidemiologic insights into pediatric kidney stone disease. Urol Res, 38(6), 453-7.
- Schaeffer AJ, Handa SE, Lingeman JE, Matlaga BR (2008). Transsplenic percutaneous nephrolithotomy. J Endourol, 22(11), 2481-4.
- Schaeffer AJ, Purves JT, King JA, Sponseller PD, Jeffs RD, Gearhart JP (2008). Complications of primary closure of classic bladder exstrophy. J Urol, 180(4 Suppl), 1671-4; discussion 1674.
- Zorn KC, Orvieto MA, Mikhail AA, Gofrit ON, Lin S, Schaeffer AJ, Shalhav AL, Zagaja GP (2007). Effect of prostate weight on operative and postoperative outcomes of robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy. Urology, 69(2), 300-5.
- Schaeffer AJ, Nguyen M, Liem A, Lee D, Montagna C, Lambert PF, Ried T, Difilippantonio MJ (2004). E6 and E7 oncoproteins induce distinct patterns of chromosomal aneuploidy in skin tumors from transgenic mice. Cancer Res, 64(2), 538-46.
- Schaeffer AJ, Chung J, Heretis K, Wong A, Ledbetter DH, Lese Martin C (2004). Comparative genomic hybridization-array analysis enhances the detection of aneuploidies and submicroscopic imbalances in spontaneous miscarriages. Am J Hum Genet, 74(6), 1168-74.
- Qian Y, Sensibar JA, Zelner DJ, Schaeffer AJ, Finlay JA, Rittenhouse HG, Lee C (1997). Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis detects prostate-specific antigen-alpha1-antichymotrypsin complex in serum but not in prostatic fluid. Clin Chem, 43(2), 352-9.
Review
- Schaeffer AJ, Diamond DA (2014). Pediatric Urinary Incontinence: Classification, Evaluation, and Management. Afr J Urol. 20(1):1-13, 2014. [Review]. African Journal of Urology, 20(1), 1-13.
- Schaeffer AJ, Burnett AL (2012). Nonsurgical interventions for Peyronie disease: 2011 update. [Review]. J Androl, 33(1), 3-14.
Abstract
- Schaeffer AJ, Gearhart JP, Matlaga BR (2010). Percutaneous cystolithopaxy following complex lower urinary tract reconstruction: the role of CT-guided access [Abstract]. American Urological Association.