Scott Zeitlin, MD — An Honest Patient Guide (Century City, Los Angeles)

Roughly half of all infertility diagnoses involve a male factor, and yet many California couples only ever meet a reproductive endocrinologist (REI) — the female-side specialist — before starting treatment. A reproductive urologist is a distinct subspecialty. Dr. Scott I. Zeitlin, a UCLA-trained andrology fellow who has been on the David Geffen School of Medicine faculty since 1998, is one of the Los Angeles region's longest-tenured male-fertility surgeons and sees patients from his Century City office at 2080 Century Park East.

This guide covers his Los Angeles (Century City) office. He also practices in Santa Monica and Tarzana — our Santa Monica directory entry covers the same physician at the 1301 20th Street office, and the two entries share the same clinical team, phone line, and medical record.

About the Physician

• Name: Scott I. Zeitlin, MD
• NPI: 1033155239 (taxonomy 208800000X, Urology)
• Medical school: SUNY Downstate Medical Center (after CUNY Brooklyn College's coordinated 7-year BA-MD program)
• Residency: Urology, SUNY Downstate; urologic-oncology training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Fellowship: Andrology / male infertility, microsurgery, and erectile dysfunction — UCLA Department of Urology
• Board certification: American Board of Urology — verify any diplomate at ABMS Certification Matters
• Faculty role: Clinical Professor of Urology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (since 1998); three-time UCLA Clinical Faculty Member of the Year; NIH-funded research at UCLA for over a decade
• Publications: indexed on PubMed
• Memberships: American Urological Association, American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), Society for the Study of Male Reproduction; former board member, Pacific Coast Reproductive Society

Practice Focus — Male-Fertility Microsurgery

Dr. Zeitlin runs a reproductive-urology and men's-health practice. The technical core is microsurgery: operating under the surgical microscope at magnifications where vas and epididymal lumens, spermatic veins, and intratesticular vessels can be dissected with minimal collateral injury. The practice is private, not part of a hospital REI department, and is independent of any single IVF center — which is why Century City patients are often referred in from Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health, and USC physicians.

Services Offered

Verified on the practice site:

• Semen analysis and advanced sperm DNA fragmentation testing
• Hormonal evaluation and management of male hypogonadism
• Microsurgical varicocelectomy
• Vasectomy and vasectomy reversal (including open-ended technique)
• Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and microdissection TESE (micro-TESE) for non-obstructive azoospermia
• Coordinated surgical sperm retrieval timed to a partner's IVF egg retrieval
• Erectile dysfunction and men's-health care

What This Practice Is Not

Dr. Zeitlin is not a reproductive endocrinologist and this is not a SART-reporting IVF center. Ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, embryology, ICSI, PGT, and embryo transfer are done by a separate REI practice and embryology lab. When an IVF cycle requires surgical sperm retrieval, Dr. Zeitlin's team coordinates the urology OR day with the partner's egg retrieval — patients keep two parallel care teams.

Los Angeles REI Partnership Pathways

Century City sits geographically between most of the LA-area IVF programs, which makes cross-referral practical. Patients commonly pair Dr. Zeitlin's male-side care with REI-led IVF at HRC Fertility (multiple LA offices), Pacific Fertility Center Los Angeles, Reproductive Partners Medical Group, CCRM Los Angeles, USC Fertility, the UCLA Fertility and Reproductive Health Center, or California Fertility Clinic (the practice that acquired CHA Fertility Center). We cover these programs in our California fertility clinic directory; the right match depends on the female-side diagnosis, insurance network, and whether donor or gestational-carrier care is part of the plan.

California Insurance Context — SB 729

California SB 729, signed in 2024, expands fertility coverage for large- and small-group plans to include infertility diagnosis and treatment, including IVF, as the mandate phases in. Male-fertility surgery is sometimes adjudicated under the urologic-surgical benefit rather than the fertility benefit, which changes prior-authorization logic and copay math — verify with your carrier before scheduling. Background: fertility insurance mandates by state (2025). For work-up steps before a first consult — lifestyle, medication review, timing — see preconception health.

Patient Experience

Dr. Zeitlin's Fertlo record sits at 4.9 / 89 reviews. The useful signal is consistency paired with tenure: 25-plus years of Los Angeles male-fertility practice, 18 consecutive Super Doctors selections by peer vote, and a referral funnel from three academic medical centers. Most complaints across Los Angeles reproductive-urology practices cluster around scheduling for surgical slots rather than clinical outcomes — ask at booking what the current wait is for a TESE or micro-TESE OR date if your partner is already in an IVF cycle.

When to Consult a Reproductive Urologist

Guidance from ASRM and the AUA recommends specialist male-factor evaluation when:

• An initial semen analysis is abnormal
• A couple has not conceived after 12 months of unprotected intercourse (6 months if the female partner is 35 or older)
• A prior vasectomy is now paired with new reproductive goals
• Azoospermia, a clinically significant varicocele, or suspected hypogonadism has been identified
• A partner's IVF plan may require surgical sperm retrieval

Considering At-Home Insemination?

Not every fertility path starts with a male-factor workup. For couples with no known male-factor diagnosis — including single parents by choice, same-sex couples, and people who want to try a few cycles before committing to clinical care — at-home intracervical insemination (ICI) is a lower-cost, private option. At-home insemination kits like those from MakeAMom ship in plain packaging, include step-by-step instructions for donor or partner sperm, and are reusable across cycles. If a semen analysis has already flagged severe oligospermia, azoospermia, or a clinically significant varicocele, at-home insemination is not appropriate — a reproductive urologist is the right next step.

Location and Contact

Century City (Los Angeles) address: 2080 Century Park East, Suite 1407, Los Angeles, CA 90067 Phone: (310) 422-9262 Website: drzeitlin.com Dr. Zeitlin also sees patients at 1301 20th Street Ste 230, Santa Monica and 18370 Burbank Blvd Ste 514, Tarzana. Telehealth consults are available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Los Angeles (Century City) office a separate practice from the Santa Monica office? No — same physician, same phone line, same records. We maintain separate directory entries because patients search by neighborhood.

Does Dr. Zeitlin perform IVF? No. IVF — ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, embryology, and embryo transfer — is handled by a reproductive endocrinologist and an embryology lab. Dr. Zeitlin's role in an IVF pathway is male-side evaluation and, when indicated, surgical sperm retrieval timed to a partner's egg retrieval. Couples typically pair a reproductive urologist with a separate IVF clinic.

How do I verify his board certification and license? Use ABMS Certification Matters for board status and the California Medical Board for active licensure.

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