During my initial consultation, Dr. Moutos indicated with my age (34 at the time) and a high AMH level, he'd recommend eSET. After my egg retrieval, he let me choose to transfer either 1 or 2 embryo since we had 5 fertilized and surviving embryos on day 3 transfer...is more of a numbers guy, so if you value bedside manner with a warm personality a lot, he will likely disappoint you. Another example is after my first cycle was cancelled, Dr Moutos adjusted the treatment protocol, but I was still not responding well. He was honesty with his feedback that he's not sure why, but did not offer reassurance or alternative treatment plan. He's not one to sugar coat things and he spends very little time in his visits. I suspect it's because the clinic is very bus
Initial consultation [at Arkansas Fertility Center]: $250 IVF flat rate for monitoring, egg retrieval, and transfer: $11,000 (also including the initial blood work, HCG blood work, and semen analysis). If you're doing distant monitoring at Parkhill Fayetteville, the case flat rate is $8000...Their fee structure is fairly straightforward, so you know what to expect. Their staff is very nice in person. They offer distant monitoring for Northwest Arkansas area. Weakness: The clinic is very busy, which causes long wait time and you need to be proactive in terms of asking questions. Equipment may be a little ol
How was your experience with Dean Moutos at Arkansas Fertility Center?
In order to get IVF treatment, we were told we need an initial consultation with Dr. Moutos, which we came in with the expectation that everything will be scheduled that day, but we were wrong. We first waited for 1.5 hours and a resident took some medical history. Waited another 45mins then Dr. Moutos came in and reviews our chart, and says that he thinks IVF is the right course of treatment for us (which we already knew since our OBGYN referred us to him after 3 failed IUI). And he proceed to explain how IVF works, and at that point we already read up so much that nothing new was offered. We were scheduled to come back in a month for an ultrasound and semen analysis. That was our first visit. We took off an entire day of work and spent $250 just for that. I felt that we could have easily done this over the phone.
Second appointment I had an hysterosonogram, which is an ultrasound with saline injected into the uterus. Dr. Moutos performed the ultrasound himself. Prior to that, I've had numerous ultrasound done from IUI, and I also had another hysterosonogram done at my hospital after, so when I say Dr. Moutos's ultrasound is quite uncomfortable, I have some point of reference. I've noticed at that point that Dr Moutos is more of a numbers guy, so if you value bedside manner with a warm personality a lot, he will likely disappoint you.
Another example is after my first cycle was cancelled, Dr Moutos adjusted the treatment protocol, but I was still not responding well. He was honesty with his feedback that he's not sure why, but did not offer reassurance or alternative treatment plan. He's not one to sugar coat things and he spends very little time in his visits. I suspect it's because the clinic is very busy since the waiting room is always full and each time I go in the wait time is always more than an hour unless it's timed like retrieval or transfer. I'm sharing this not because I don't think he's a good doctor, but I want people to be able to manage their expectations, so they're not frustrated like I was.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Dean Moutos at Arkansas Fertility Center?
Expect a long wait time, and have all your questions prepared before he rushes out of the room. If he won't answer them in detail, the nurses usually will. You will also likely see Dr. Batres even though your primary doctor is Dr. Moutos.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Dean Moutos at Arkansas Fertility Center?
Dr. Moutos and Dr. Batres works on alternating 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off pattern so even though my primary doctor was Dr Moutos, I had one ultrasound appointment and my embryo transfer done by Dr. Batres, which is not ideal but it is how the clinic works. They did not tell you ahead of time that you won't see your primary doctor so it always came as a shock to me when I arrive. The nursing team is a little hard to reach sometimes, and most of the communication occur on the eIVF platform. The lack of communication and alternating doctors does make me feel like being treated like a number sometimes, but the staff are really nice in person.
Describe the protocols Dean Moutos used in your cycles at Arkansas Fertility Center and their degree of success.
Prior to each cycle starting, I was on birth control pull for about 2 months. The first cycle he started with 150 IU Gonal-F and 150 IU (2 vials) Menopur for 3 days. The fourth day ultrasound and lab work showed a minimum estradiol increase so he increased the injection to 225 IU Gonal-F 150 IU Menopur for another 5 days, and my cycle was cancelled on day 8 since the estrodial level and follicular development wasn't as high as they had expected.
The second cycle added 1 pump of 1% Androgel each day for 22 days prior to the injection. He started me at the higher dose of 225 IU Gonal-F and 150 IU Menopur, which continued with frequent ultrasound and blood for 8 days. On the 9th day, they added 250 mcg of Ganirelix in addition to 225 IU Gonal-F and 150 IU Menopur for the following 5 days. On day 14, I injected 250 mcg Ovidrel in the evening for my scheduled morning retrieval 2 days later.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Arkansas Fertility Center. (Assigned nurse: Patsy)
The care coordinator usually provide instructions over the eIVF platform, but it's always bare minimum instruction like how much to inject for meds. She is unlikely to give you more information unless you ask (eg. how much more medication to refill, billing questions, etc). The treatment plan sometimes changes as you go, so there's always a level of uncertainty throughout. Therefore, you have to be proactive in terms asking what to expect next (ie. new cycle start date, time for retrieval, transfer, Covid test, etc) especially if you need time off scheduled in advance. Billing questions are done by another nurse named Sarah and sometimes she's hard to get a hold of. I understand that they're very busy and I think they're all doing the best they can. You just have to embrace the uncertainty and don't expect them to spoon-feed you everything you'd need to know. Do your own research and I find they usually answer questions on the eIVF platform within 24 hrs. It may be more effective than leaving voicemails with the nursing team.
Describe your experience with Arkansas Fertility Center.
Strength: Their fee structure is fairly straightforward, so you know what to expect. Their staff is very nice in person. They offer distant monitoring for Northwest Arkansas area.
Weakness: The clinic is very busy, which causes long wait time and you need to be proactive in terms of asking questions. Equipment may be a little old, like ultrasound has a very small screen and poor quality compared to other clinics. Other things you should know: During Covid, they require you to perform a Covid test prior to cycle starting and then again prior to egg retrieval, and if you test positive, they'll cancel the cycle with no refund.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Dean Moutos at Arkansas Fertility Center.
Initial consultation: $250
IVF flat rate for monitoring, egg retrieval, and transfer: $11,000 (also including the initial blood work, HCG blood work, and semen analysis).
If you're doing distant monitoring at Parkhill Fayetteville, the case flat rate is $8000.
Any additional ultrasound and blood work done in the office: $585 on the weekend, $490 on a weekday.
Ultrasound and blood work at Parkhill (cash rate): $402, insurance rate (about $90/visit depending on your insurance).
Standard medication from freedom pharmacy: $4700
Frozen cycle: $3000
Embryo cryopreservation, billed annually: $250
Describe Dean Moutos's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Arkansas Fertility Center.
During my initial consultation, Dr. Moutos indicated with my age (34 at the time) and a high AMH level, he'd recommend eSET. After my egg retrieval, he let me choose to transfer either 1 or 2 embryo since we had 5 fertilized and surviving embryos on day 3 transfer. We chose to transfer 2.
What specific things went wrong at Arkansas Fertility Center?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
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Clinic
Arkansas Fertility Center
Little Rock