Michael A. Werner, MD — Maze Men's Sexual & Reproductive Health — An Honest Editorial Review

The male half of the fertility workup is frequently the half that receives the least dedicated clinical infrastructure. Most reproductive endocrinology practices handle semen analysis in-house and then refer male-factor patients out to a urologist for surgical or medical management. In the New York metro, Maze Men's Sexual & Reproductive Health has built the opposite kind of practice: a dedicated reproductive-urology and male sexual medicine group, founded and led by Dr. Michael A. Werner, that operates as a referral destination for male-factor cases across the tristate area. The main office sits at 440 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 201, in Harrison, NY — a Westchester County location equidistant from lower Westchester, Fairfield County, and northern Manhattan — with a Manhattan satellite at 633 Third Avenue, and additional offices in Connecticut and New Jersey. Werner's practice carries a 4.8-star rating across 96 reviews in the Fertlo database. This guide covers what the practice does, what it deliberately does not do, and how it fits into the broader New York fertility care landscape.

About the Physician

Michael A. Werner, MD, FACS is a board-certified urologist with more than three decades of specialty practice in male infertility and male sexual medicine. He completed his undergraduate degree in Biology at Harvard College, graduating cum laude, before earning his MD at the University of California, San Francisco in 1986. His urology residency was completed at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan from 1989 to 1993, followed by fellowship training in male infertility, male reproductive surgery, and sexual dysfunction at Boston University Medical Center from 1993 to 1994 — the specific combined fellowship pathway that defines a reproductive-urology subspecialist rather than a general urologist who happens to see fertility patients. He is certified by the American Board of Urology (verifiable through the ABMS member-board directory) and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His NPI is 1124340294, with urology taxonomy code 208800000X and active licensure in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Werner has been in private practice focused on male infertility and sexual medicine since 1994, when he founded what is now Maze Men's Sexual & Reproductive Health. He serves as Medical Director of Maze Laboratories (since 1997) and of Maze Women's Sexual Health (since 2000). He has published extensively in medical journals on male reproductive topics and is a frequent lecturer on male infertility and sexual health.

Practice Focus — What Maze Is

Maze is a reproductive-urology and male sexual medicine specialty practice. That distinction matters. Most fertility patients interact with urology through a one-off referral for a semen analysis interpretation or a varicocele evaluation; at Maze, male reproductive and sexual health is the entire clinical program, not a subspecialty sideline. The practice runs its own on-site andrology and andrology-surgical infrastructure, including extended sperm-search protocols for patients whose standard semen analyses show no sperm. The practice has operated since 1994 across four offices in the New York tristate area.

Services Offered

Male infertility — diagnostic and surgical:

• Comprehensive semen analysis with on-site andrology laboratory support
• Extended Sperm Search and MicroFreeze (ESSM) — Maze's in-house protocol for patients with cryptozoospermia or very low sperm counts, searching through larger-than-standard volumes of ejaculate to identify and cryopreserve rare viable sperm
• Sperm mapping / Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) mapping — diagnostic pre-surgical evaluation for non-obstructive azoospermia
• Microsurgical varicocelectomy — repair of dilated scrotal veins that may impair sperm production
• Microsurgical vasectomy reversal (vasovasostomy and vasoepididymostomy) — restoration of vas deferens continuity after prior vasectomy
• Microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) — surgical sperm retrieval for men with non-obstructive azoospermia, performed under operating microscope
• TESE / PESA / MESA — various surgical sperm retrieval procedures for obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia
• Azoospermia workup — endocrine, genetic, and anatomic evaluation
• No-scalpel vasectomy — the elective contraception procedure Maze offers alongside its reversal service
• Sperm banking and cryopreservation through Maze Laboratories

Male sexual medicine:

• Erectile dysfunction evaluation and treatment (oral agents, intracavernosal injection therapy, vacuum devices, penile rehabilitation protocols)
• Low testosterone evaluation and Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) — with the caveat that TRT is generally paused or replaced with fertility-preserving alternatives (hCG, clomiphene) when active fertility is desired
• Premature and delayed ejaculation treatment
• Peyronie's disease evaluation and management, including Xiaflex injection protocols
• Low libido workup
• Chronic pelvic pain syndrome evaluation

What This Practice Is NOT

Maze Men's Sexual & Reproductive Health is not a reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) practice, and it does not perform IVF, ICSI, or embryo transfer. It does not report outcomes to SART, because SART membership is defined around IVF-performing programs — a category Maze sits outside by design. Patients who need IVF or ICSI will receive those services at an REI partner practice; Maze's role is to get the male side of the equation ready (surgical sperm retrieval, varicocele repair, medical optimization) so that the REI cycle has something to work with.

For patients whose workup does not reveal a surgically treatable cause and who need standard IUI or IVF pathways, the female-partner REI consultation is the appropriate starting point, with Maze providing male-side evaluation and surgical retrieval support as needed.

New York Metro REI Partnership Pathways

In practice, male-factor patients seen at Maze are routinely coordinated with New York metro REI programs for the assisted reproduction half of care. The region's SART-reporting programs include RMA of New York, NYU Langone Fertility Center, Columbia University Fertility Center, Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Reproductive Medicine (CRM), Reproductive Specialists of NY (RSF), Shady Grove Fertility NY, and CCRM New York, with RMA of Connecticut serving Fairfield County patients. Micro-TESE-retrieved sperm can be cryopreserved at Maze Laboratories and shipped to the partner REI program for synchronized use with the female partner's retrieval cycle, or used fresh on the day of retrieval when the logistics of a same-day surgical pairing are arranged in advance. You can compare programs through our New York fertility clinics directory or review IVF pathways for patients pursuing male-factor IVF.

New York Insurance Context

New York's fertility insurance mandate, enacted as SB 3148 and effective January 1, 2020, requires fully-insured large-group employer plans (101 or more employees) to cover up to three complete IVF cycles for patients with an infertility diagnosis, including either fresh or frozen embryo transfer. All plans — including small-group and individual market plans — are required to cover medically necessary fertility preservation for iatrogenic infertility (cancer treatment, gender-affirming care, or surgery for endometriosis). The mandate applies to the IVF cycle itself, which would be performed at the REI partner, not at Maze. Coverage for male-side surgical procedures (varicocelectomy, vasectomy reversal, micro-TESE) depends on the specific plan and medical-necessity documentation. Self-funded employer plans are governed by federal ERISA law and are not subject to New York's mandate — patients on those plans should review their Summary Plan Description directly. For a broader view, see our 2025 state-by-state fertility insurance mandate guide.

Patient Experience

Maze Men's Sexual & Reproductive Health carries a 4.8-star rating across 96 reviews in the Fertlo database. The qualitative themes across public review platforms are consistent. Patients describe Werner as unusually direct, candid about expectations, and willing to take on complex cases that have not resolved elsewhere — particularly azoospermia, recurrent varicocele, and failed prior vasectomy reversals. The practice's focus on a narrow clinical scope — male reproductive and sexual health — means the staff is practiced at handling the specific emotional contours of male-factor diagnosis, which is an experience many men navigate without much social scaffolding. Reviewers also cite scheduling responsiveness and the four-office footprint as meaningful logistical advantages compared to commuting to a single Manhattan academic center.

When to Consult

Consider a Maze consultation when any of the following applies:

• Azoospermia — no sperm in the ejaculate on two confirmed semen analyses
• Severe oligospermia — very low sperm counts on repeat testing
• Clinical or subclinical varicocele with abnormal semen parameters
• Prior vasectomy with desire to restore fertility (reversal candidacy evaluation)
• Failed IVF/ICSI cycles with suspected male-factor contribution
• Genetic or endocrine workup for unexplained male infertility (Y-chromosome microdeletion, Klinefelter syndrome, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism)
• Pre-chemotherapy or pre-gender-affirming-care fertility preservation for men and transgender patients
• Erectile dysfunction, low testosterone, or Peyronie's disease as primary concerns, independent of fertility

Male-factor preparation for fertility treatment is discussed further in our preconception health guide for partners.

Location & Contact

Primary office: 440 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 201, Harrison, NY 10528 (Westchester County) — (914) 997-4100 Manhattan: 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 — (212) 647-7000 Connecticut: (203) 831-9900 New Jersey: (973) 472-0600 General inquiries: (646) 380-2600 Website: mazemenshealth.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Maze an IVF clinic? No. Maze is a reproductive-urology and male sexual medicine practice. It handles diagnostic workup and surgical management of male infertility — including surgical sperm retrieval — but the IVF or ICSI cycle itself is performed at an REI partner practice. Sperm retrieved at Maze can be cryopreserved for use at the partner program or coordinated for same-day fresh use.

How is a reproductive urologist different from a general urologist? Fellowship training in male infertility and reproductive microsurgery is the difference. Procedures like microsurgical vasectomy reversal and micro-TESE require specialized operating-microscope technique and case volume that general urology practices typically do not maintain. Werner's 1993–1994 fellowship at Boston University Medical Center, followed by three decades of dedicated practice, places him firmly in the reproductive-urology subspecialty category.

Will my insurance cover varicocelectomy or vasectomy reversal? Varicocelectomy, when performed for documented abnormal semen parameters, is frequently covered by commercial insurance with medical-necessity documentation. Vasectomy reversal is less consistently covered and often billed as an out-of-pocket procedure, though some plans do cover it. Maze's billing team can verify specific plan coverage. For further discussion of national coverage patterns, see our fertility insurance mandate guide.

What should I bring to my first appointment? Any prior semen analyses (ideally two separate samples), any hormone panel results (testosterone, FSH, LH, estradiol, prolactin), a scrotal ultrasound report if one has been done, documentation of any prior genetic testing (karyotype, Y-microdeletion), and the contact information for your partner's REI program if one is already involved.

Does Maze serve patients outside the New York tristate area? Yes. The practice sees patients who travel in for surgical consultation, with the four office locations offering scheduling flexibility. Post-operative follow-up for out-of-area patients is often coordinated with local urology for routine wound checks, with Werner's team handling the reproductive-specific follow-up.

Editorial note: Independently written by the Fertlo editorial team; not sponsored. See our editorial policy.