Disenchanted with what he perceived to be a system built to treat patients who were already sick rather than keep healthy people healthy, Dr. Justin Saya turned his focus from family medicine to healing through preventive medicine. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he says.

As the medical director and lead practicing physician at Defy Medical, Dr. Saya and his team specialize in hormone replacement therapy to treat a wide variety of symptoms in men and women of all ages. These tend to include weight gain or increased body fat, fatigue and metabolic changes, as well as low libido or erectile dysfunction for men, or hot flashes and painful intercourse for women. The Defy team takes a comprehensive approach, examining general health and hormones to improve a patient’s quality of life, prevent future diseases or even reverse current ones.

“I like to say hormones are a symphony, they’re not a solo,” Dr. Saya shared. “If one member of the symphony is out of tune, it throws everything else off. Hormones are very similar. The goal is to treat all the deficiencies, wherever they may be, and achieve complete symptom resolution.”

Beyond hormone replacement, Defy Medical also offers primary care services both in-office and through virtual telemedicine (a convenience their patients have enjoyed long before the pandemic, Dr. Saya says), IV and injectable nutrition, shockwave therapy for erectile dysfunction, and platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy. The Defy team uses PRP in a variety of ways, including to treat hair loss, musculoskeletal issues and sexual rejuvenation. One of their newest treatment options is ketamine for anxiety and depression.

EDUCATION: M.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine; Internship/Residency, University of South Florida/Morton Plant Mease Family Medicine Residency Program