In his nearly forty years as a practicing physician, Dr. Wettlaufer's expertise as a Urologist has become nationally recognized. In addition to his extensive experience as a surgeon and clinician in both military medicine and private practice, he has also endeavored to share his considerable experience as a teacher, having directed several residency programs and overseen the training of more than 100 men and women who are now urologists. He has published more than a hundred articles in various medical journals and has been a featured lecturer or panel member at nearly 300 conferences and seminars. Recently voted the finest Urologic Oncology specialist in the greater Seattle area, Dr. Wettlaufer was also honored by his peers in 1997 when he was selected to be included in the fourth listing of "The Best Doctors in America."

Dr. Wettlaufer graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 1952. During the Korean War he enlisted and served in an Army Medical Research Lab under AMA Gold Medal Research Winner Dr. Paul Reaser. He then attended Georgetown Medical School and, upon receiving his MD in 1958, embarked upon a long and distinguished career as a physician and teacher in the US Army Medical Corps. After completing his residency in Urology at Walter Reed Medical Center in 1963, he was Assistant Chief of Urology in several Army Hospitals in the states before being stationed in Japan during the Vietnam War. He served as Chief of Urology in several US Army Hospitals until 1968. In August 1969, he became the Chief of Urology at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma as Chief of Urology where he started a Urologic Residency program and brought Dr. Modarelli in as his Chief Assistant.

In 1977, Dr. Wettlaufer retired from the military and was appointed Professor and Chairman of Urology at the University of Colorado, where he taught and practiced for 13 years. During his time there, he developed international expertise in the management of testis tumors. His numerous publications and presentations continued to garner him recognition as an outstanding doctor dedicated not only to his patients but to his profession as well.

Returning to the Tacoma area in 1990, Dr. Wettlaufer was recomissioned as a Colonel at Madigan once again to oversee the Residency program he had founded some 21 years earlier. In January 1996, he rejoined his former assistant chief here at Northwest Urology and has brought his considerable experience and commitment to professional excellence to our staff.

Having authored or co-authored some 13 chapters in various books on Urology, Dr. Wettlaufer is currently working on a book chronicling developments in Urologic trauma surgery during the Vietnam war. He and his wife Rita, have three children and three grandchildren. In addition to his love of medicine, he enjoys golf and gardening.