![Kathleen Kobashi MD, FACS](https://res.cloudinary.com/els-assets/image/upload/c_fill_pad,f_auto,g_auto,h_150,q_auto,w_120/v1/practice-update/remote-media/contentimage/25279.jpg)
Kathleen C. Kobashi MD, FACS
Head, Section of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WashingtonKathleen Kobashi, MD, FACS, is Head of the Section of Urology and Renal Transplantation at Virginia Mason Medical Center and Director of VM’s Pelvic Floor Center. She received her B.A. at Wellesley College and her M.D. at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, and completed her urologic residency at the University of California, Irvine followed by a Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS) fellowship at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles before joining Virginia Mason in 1999.
In addition to her passion around clinical medicine, Dr. Kobashi is dedicated to research and education of patients and future urologists. She founded the VM FPMRS fellowship in 2003 and a new Urology residency in 2014, for which she serves as the Program Director. She is a Clinical Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Dr. Kobashi has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on topics related to urinary incontinence and pelvic prolapse and has been invited faculty on the subject around the globe. She is the Immediate Past President of SUFU (Society for Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction), President-elect for the Western Section AUA, and serves on the American Board of Urology Examination Committee and as the Associate Editor of the new AUA journal, Urology Practice. She received the 2006 Continence Care Champion award from the National Association for Continence, the prestigious Paul Zimskind Award from SUFU in 2010, and a Presidential Citation from the American Urological Association in 2013.
Recent Contributions to PracticeUpdate:
- Video Virtual Clinical Encounters vs Office Visits for Postoperative Care After Pelvic Organ Prolapse Surgery
- TVT-O for Treatment of Pure Urodynamic Stress Urinary Incontinence
- Urodynamic Stress Urinary Incontinence in Female Patients With Urethral Diverticulum
- Retropubic vs Transobturator Mid-Urethral Slings in Patients at High Risk for Recurrent Stress Incontinence
- Immediate/Sustained-Release Formulation of Acetaminophen–Ibuprofen for Severe Nocturia Associated With OAB
- Readmission/Reoperation After Midurethral Sling
- Efficacy of Vaginal Estradiol or Vaginal Moisturizer vs Placebo for Treating Postmenopausal Vulvovaginal Symptoms
- Complications During Pregnancy and Cesarean Delivery in Women With Lower Urinary Tract Reconstruction
- Guidelines for the Nonsurgical Management of Female Urinary Incontinence
- Predictors of Vaginal Mesh Exposure After Midurethral Sling Placement