When Dr. Leng arrived in Fort Worth in 2012, she was the city’s first and only female urologist. She admits she was surprised, although it wasn’t completely unexpected. “Even when I was training back in the 90s, most chairmen overseeing departments of urology had no interest in training a woman,” she says. “Back then, women made up only one percent of all urologists in the country. So, I was very fortunate to meet two urology chairmen for residency and fellowship who were quite progressive-minded. They truly felt there needed to be more women in the field of urology.”
Yet, even her parents raised their eyebrows and wondered why she chose the male-dominated field. Her response to all who raised their eyebrows was simple: “Well, women have urinary tracts too!” The surgical subspecialty appealed to Dr. Leng’s penchant for “figuring out problems and then literally, taking matters into one’s hands to solve them.” The subspecialty previously known as “female urology” and now as FPMRS (female pelvic medicine reconstructive surgery) proved a great fit. “I especially like taking care of vaginal prolapse and incontinence.
As a founder of Urology Partners, Dr. Leng leverages her rare combination of academic urology and medical practice to serve women and men whose quality of life has been diminished by urinary tract dysfunction. In particular, more and more women are seeking medical help for their worsening incontinence and pelvic prolapse. “I am a woman urologist who has spent my entire career focused on the subspecialty of vaginal prolapse and incontinence—pelvic floor medicine,” she says.
Along with her expertise, Dr. Leng’s upbeat personality puts her patients at ease. “I try to make a connection with each new patient I meet,” she says. “I want them to know that I’m there for them.”
Not long ago, Dr. Leng helped a depressed, elderly woman with chronic vaginal prolapse. “It was the most severe case I’ve ever seen. I performed surgery to correct it, and when I saw her post-op, she seemed like a different woman. She was so cheerful, whereas before she had been quite morose. It was wonderful to see the transformation.”
At the other end of the spectrum, Dr. Leng also cares for patients with severe urinary tract dysfunction resulting from neurologic disorders such as spina bifida, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons’s disease, spinal cord injury, stroke, etc. “They are so grateful to have someone who understands how to take care of them,” she says. “It’s very rewarding.”
A graduate of Harvard University, Dr. Leng earned her medical degree at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. She completed two years of training in preliminary general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by four years of urologic surgical training at Lahey Clinical Medical Center. She then pursued a clinical fellowship at the University of Texas Houston Medical Center focused on female pelvic medicine, incontinence and voiding dysfunction. In the past, she served as assistant professor of urology at University of California San Francisco and associate professor at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A recipient of a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institute of Health, she has served as a co-principal investigator on many clinical trials pertaining to incontinence and female pelvic floor disorders.
When she’s not caring for her patients, Dr. Leng enjoys spending downtime with family and friends, reading about the world, art and design, cooking new recipes, as well as napping. She is married and has two children who understand women can be urologists or anything else they want to be.
