Rau, a boyish-looking man with a friendly face and a cheerful bow tie, quickly puts Hannah at ease with casual questions about summer camping plans and then pulls out a drawing of the female reproductive system. He explains, in simple language, how her body works and why she's experiencing these symptoms and tells her he doesn't believe she has a vaginal infection. He'll do a quick exam, with a Q-tip, just to be sure, he says. But Mom has. The doctor and Noreen exchange a look.
Every woman has a normal discharge.
The female body cleans itself. Although gynecology is part of any pediatrician's medical training, many don't practice it, Rau said later. And most gynecologists don't treat very young girls like Hannah. Rau, who also has a busy private practice, does everything from delivering babies to treating women experiencing menopause. Between these two extremes lies the vast region of pediatric and adolescent gynecology, for which he specifically trained at the University of Tennessee at Memphis during a one-year fellowship program and which accounts for at least 30 percent of his business.