It's not just women who wait in the waiting rooms of our surgeries. Men are an important and welcome part of our everyday practice and clinic life. Men accompany their partners to the birth, to pregnancy check-ups, to consultations in the case of serious diagnoses or to fertility consultations. Many issues that we encounter in gynaecological consultations affect not only the woman, but also the couple. This is what makes the topic of men's medicine so important to us. When it comes to their own preventive care, men still tend to consult a urologist or andrologist less often and later than women, for whom regular check-ups are part of their routine from a young age. In addition to screening, health and life issues are discussed, such as mental/sexual health. Unfortunately, however, adolescent men often lack a medical reference person, they no longer want to go to the paediatrician because they feel too old for it at 17/18 and many are embarrassed to go to the men's doctor.

Where is the topic of men's medicine relevant in gynaecological consultations?

• Infections: if one partner is diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease such as chlamydia or gonococcus, the sexual partner should also be examined and treated
• HPV (human papillomavirus): this sexually transmitted virus can cause cervical cancer in women and genital warts or anal cancer in both sexes. Men should be aware that HPV can also affect them and should be screened for HPV-related changes as part of preventive care. If genital warts occur in both sex partners, they should both be treated to prevent mutual infection. It is important to know that vaccination against the HPV virus is now recommended for both sexes, namely as part of the cantonal vaccination programme for girls/women and boys/men aged 11-26. Vaccination against HPV may also be advisable at a later stage.
• Contraception counselling: an unwanted pregnancy affects both men and women and therefore also the issue of contraception - we are happy to provide contraception counselling with both partners if desired.
• Unfulfilled desire to have children: if a desired pregnancy does not occur, it is very important to us to provide comprehensive counselling for men and women in our fertility clinic and to initiate diagnostic steps for both. In addition to a comprehensive examination of the woman, a sperm analysis must be carried out on the man. If there are any deviations from the norm, we recommend and organise an andrological examination. The andrologist (male doctor) will carry out a physical examination and initiate a control spermiogram. Occasionally, the andrological examination reveals fertility-related illnesses or illnesses that have nothing to do with the unfulfilled desire to have children. This could reveal an organic disease that would otherwise have gone unrecognised.
• Sexual dysfunctions can occur in both sexes and can be a burden for the affected person/couple. For most women, it is now normal to talk to their gynaecologist about sexuality. If a man is affected by a sexual dysfunction, such as erectile dysfunction, he is often uncomfortable talking to a specialist about it or it is unclear to him which specialist is responsible for the ‘problem’. In this case, it is advisable to go to an andrologist or a urologist specialising in andrology.
• Screening for men: in Switzerland, prostate screening is only recommended from the age of 50; if relatives are known to have prostate cancer, the first check should take place at the age of 45. A colonoscopy should be carried out for the first time at the age of 50 at the latest. This means that screening for men comes 20-30 years later than for women, who are recommended to have their first cancer smear test at the age of 21. An imbalance that, in our opinion, justifies giving men's health a place in gynaecological consultations.

We see it as our duty as gynaecologists to encourage our patients to recommend that their partners, sons, brothers, brothers-in-law, friends and fathers undergo the recommended preventive examinations or seek advice in the event of complaints or problems such as infections, erectile dysfunction, etc.