Philippe Zimmern, M.D.

  • The Felecia and John Cain Distinguished Chair in Women’s Health, in Honor of Philippe Zimmern, M.D.
  • Urology
  • Female Urology
  • Surgical Treatment of Pelvic Floor Disorders

Biography

Philippe Zimmern, M.D., is a Professor of Urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and the recipient of the Felecia and John Cain Chair for Women’s Health in Urology in honor of Dr. Philippe Zimmern. His clinical specialties include incontinence, prolapse, voiding dysfunction, urodynamics, fistula and urethral diverticulum repairs, mesh implant complications, and urinary tract infections. He also specializes in vaginal surgery with native tissue repair, and in minimally invasive robotic surgery for prolapse.

Dr. Zimmern received his medical training and completed his doctoral thesis at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris, France. After completing a urology residency in France, Dr. Zimmern spent a fellowship year at UCLA.

Dr. Zimmern joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 1995. Prior to that, he served as Director of the Urology Research Program and Co-Director of the Urodynamics Laboratory at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles.

Among several honors, he has been the recipient of the 1997 Paul Zimskind Urodynamic Society Award and the Jane and John Justin Distinguished Chair in Urology, in honor of Claus G. Roehrborn, M.D., in 2005. He is a past President of the Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology (SUFU) and in 2011 was the recipient of the SUFU Distinguished Service Award. In 2012, he received the prestigious Continence Care Champion award from the National Association for Continence (NAFC).

Dr. Zimmern, in association with Gary Lemack, M.D., and Maude Carmel, M.D., directs a two-year fellowship program in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) at UT Southwestern. This fellowship program has been endowed in perpetuity by the Felecia Cain Foundation.

Dr. Zimmern has been a visiting professor in the United States, Europe, China, Australia, and Canada and has editorial and advisory responsibilities for many urology journals. He has co-authored more than 365 publications, 28 surgical movies, and 65 book chapters, and co-edited four textbooks, including the books Female Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery and Native Tissue Repair for Incontinence and Prolapse. He is FPMRS-certified and a member of the American College of Surgeons.

He received the inaugural Leaders in Excellence Award at UT Southwestern (2018).

Meet Dr. Zimmern

Philippe Zimmern, M.D., has a message of hope for people who suffer from incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.

“Just because your mother and grandmother lived with it, that doesn’t mean you have to,” he says. "Providing quality of life is the essence of what we do."

As Director of the Bladder and Incontinence Treatment Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Zimmern treats a variety of conditions that affect women (and some men), offering solutions that range from rehabilitation to medications and surgery.  

“I enjoy giving people the chance to sleep at night, to travel, to not have to wear protection or pads – activities that their conditions might otherwise have limited,” says Dr. Zimmern, a Texas Monthly Super Doctor.

One of Dr. Zimmern’s particular areas of specialty is vaginal surgery for pelvic organ prolapse, a condition in which the bladder, uterus, or rectum “drops,” or prolapses, into the vagina. He offers a procedure that uses a patient’s own tissues to fix the problem. He’s also an expert in repairing complications stemming from other procedures performed to repair prolapse, including mesh complications.

In addition to his work with patients, Dr. Zimmern actively participates in research related to incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and recurrent urinary tract infections. He and a team from UT Southwestern were integral members of the National Institutes of Health’s Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network, a multicenter group at the forefront of clinical trials and high-quality research in the field. His current research focuses on women’s health topics related to urology, with NIH grants (R 01 and R 21) in collaboration with several Ph.D. collaborators on the UTSW campus, and at UT Dallas and UT Arlington. 

Dr. Zimmern leads the research section of UT Southwestern’s fellowship training in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS), one of only a few such programs in the country.

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Education & Training
  • Residency - UCLA School of Medicine (1985-1988), Urology
  • Internship - UCLA School of Medicine (1984-1985), Urology
  • Fellowship - UCLA School of Medicine (1983-1984), Research
  • Residency - Hospital Necker Enfants Malades (1979-1983), Urology
  • Residency - University of Paris/Faculty of Medicine (1979-1983), Urology
  • Medical School - Hospital Necker Enfants Malades (1973-1980)
Professional Associations & Affiliations
  • Society for Urodynamics & Female Urology
  • Société Internationale d'Urologie
  • International Continence Society
  • American Urogynecologic Society
  • American College of Surgeons
Honors & Awards
  • D Magazine Best Doctor 2021-2022
  • Recipient of the Felecia and John Cain Chair in Women’s Health, In honor of Philippe E. Zimmern, M.D. 2019
  • Top Doctors in Texas 2018-2019
  • Patient and Family Recognition Award – UT Southwestern 2018
  • America’s Most Honored Professional 2016-2019
  • Texas Super Doctors 2016-2019
  • Top Urologist in Dallas, TX, The Leading Physicians of the World 2015-2019
  • Castle Connolly Top Doctor – Top Doctors North Texas 2015-2019
  • Outstanding Reviewer for The Journal of Urology 2016
  • Best Reviewer in 2013 Award, The Journal of Urology 2014
  • David A Culp Lecturer Award, University of Iowa 2013
  • Rodney Appell Continence Care Champion, National Association for Continence and Society of Urodynamics and Female Urology 2012
  • SUFU Distinguished Service Award 2011
  • Patient Choice Award 2010
  • Past President, Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology, 2006-2008
  • President, Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology, 2004-2006
  • Vice President, Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology, 2002-2004
  • Secretary/Treasurer, Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology, 2000-2002
  • Kaiser Physician Recognition Award for the Los Angeles Area
Books & Publications
Research
  • Voiding dysfunction
  • Pelvic organ prolapse
  • Neurourology
  • Incontinence (female, male)
  • Bladder diseases

Clinical Focus

  • Female Urology
  • Surgical Treatment of Pelvic Floor Disorders
  • Pelvic Organ Prolapse

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Q&A by Dr. Zimmern

Results: 1 Locations