Dr. Kawwass is amazing. It is clear she really loves what she does. She never rushed us and was sure to answer every question we had. She (and all the fellows) explain EVERYTHING so clearly. At all times you know exactly what they are doing, how and why they are doing it. It makes all of those invasive procedures feel better because you understand what is going on. Also, I love how knowledgeable Dr. Kawwass is in current fertility studies. The best way I can describe the kind of doctor she is, is by telling you about our failed transfer. This was our 2nd failed attempt, but first with her. The nurse from Emory called to give me the news as soon as the results came in, and told me Dr. Kawwass would call the next week (it was Friday). However, I got a call from Dr. Kawwass just to express her condolences and "send me a hug". This meant so much to me, I could tell she was truly upset by the result as well. She is so smart and compassionate if anyone is going to get me to the best end result, I believe it will be her.
[Emory Fertility's] Strengths - Doctors, Fellows, and scheduling (they are open year round, which means weekend appointments, and IVF all year). Weaknesses - They don't hold your hand as much through the medication process. Again I stress, in my opinion the strengths outweigh the weaknesses by a mile...The nurses are all very nice and compassionate. I never saw many nurses, but talk to them a lot. I was not assigned a particular nurse to I have talked to many of them. As I mentioned earlier sometimes I have to help them with where all my prescriptions go, and if I need refills.
How was your experience with Jennifer Kawwass at Emory University Reproductive Center?
Dr. Kawwass is amazing. It is clear she really loves what she does. She never rushed us and was sure to answer every question we had. She (and all the fellows) explain EVERYTHING so clearly. At all times you know exactly what they are doing, how and why they are doing it. It makes all of those invasive procedures feel better because you understand what is going on. Also, I love how knowledgeable Dr. Kawwass is in current fertility studies.
The best way I can describe the kind of doctor she is, is by telling you about our failed transfer. This was our 2nd failed attempt, but first with her. The nurse from Emory called to give me the news as soon as the results came in, and told me Dr. Kawwass would call the next week (it was Friday). However, I got a call from Dr. Kawwass just to express her condolences and "send me a hug". This meant so much to me, I could tell she was truly upset by the result as well.
She is so smart and compassionate if anyone is going to get me to the best end result, I believe it will be her.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Jennifer Kawwass at Emory University Reproductive Center?
The doctors, and fellows are fabulous; however, you have to be on top of ordering you medicine on time. This may be more of an issue for me as I am an out of state patient and have to do outside monitoring. At my previous clinic my nurses were on top of the medication, showed you how to take it, and knew exactly where to order it. At Emory, I have to tell the nurses when I need the prescription increased and where to put the orders.
With all that being said, I believe it is worth it to have the knowledge of the Emory doctors. One thing I love is all the doctors have a meeting to discuss your case, so you have the opinions of multiple doctors, not just one.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Jennifer Kawwass at Emory University Reproductive Center?
Emory is the second clinic we have gone to, but we visited 4 clinics total. From the first minute we met Dr. Kawwass she felt like a friend, not just a doctor. It was very clear she wanted us to have a baby, not just gain a new patient. Also, the waiting room is never full (like most private clinics), and I have never waited more than 10 minutes from my appointment time (usually they pull me back early).
Describe the protocols Jennifer Kawwass used in your cycles at Emory University Reproductive Center and their degree of success.
For my IVF I was on the highest does of Gonal F (450 IU) and Menopur (150 IU). I ended up stimulating for 12 days, and we used Ganirelix for 5. This produced 12 follicles (almost twice the amount of my first IVF) and we got 9 eggs. Out of the 9 eggs, we got 7 embryos.
After the retrieval, I began 2 estrogen patches (changed every other day) and 1mL Progesterone shot.
We ended up transferring 2 fresh embryos on day 3, and freezing 4 embryos (one embryo did not make it to day 3). We decided to do this since there is so much attrition between day 3 and 5, and we really wanted some to freeze.
We are now preparing for a Frozen transfer. All my meds have been increased. I will be building up to 4 estrogen patches before the transfer. We will also do 3 days of Ganirelix. After the transfer, we will continue the estrogen patches, 2mL Progesterone shot, and 3 progesterone tablets. Hopefully we will get a good result this time. This will be our first frozen transfer.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Emory University Reproductive Center.
The nurses are all very nice and compassionate. I never saw many nurses, but talk to them a lot. I was not assigned a particular nurse to I have talked to many of them. As I mentioned earlier sometimes I have to help them with where all my prescriptions go, and if I need refills.
Describe your experience with Emory University Reproductive Center.
Strengths - Doctors, Fellows, and scheduling (they are open year round, which means weekend appointments, and IVF all year).
Weaknesses - They don't hold your hand as much through the medication process.
Again I stress, in my opinion the strengths outweigh the weaknesses by a mile.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Jennifer Kawwass at Emory University Reproductive Center.
I have good insurance, so my monitoring and medicine was covered.
We purchased a plan through Emory that included IVF and 1 FET. This was approximately $14k. We also did ICSI ($1.5k) and Assisted Embryo Hatching ($1.5). My meds were just a $300 co-pay.
Describe Jennifer Kawwass's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Emory University Reproductive Center.
Dr. Kawwass, like most doctors, opts for a single embryo transfer. The only reason we did two was my previous two embryo transfer failed, and the fact we did a day 3 versus day 5 transfer. We will be unfreezing 2 embryos for the frozen transfer in case one does not make it.
What specific things went wrong at Emory University Reproductive Center?
- Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Emory University Reproductive Center.
My insurance is funny so I have to order medicine from two separate pharmacies depending on the meds. Sometimes the nurses send the prescription to the wrong one, and I have to call them to resend to the right pharmacy.
Also if you have to get approval from your insurance before the meds are ordered make sure the nurses know! Or else you may not get it in time.
10
Clinic
Emory University Reproductive Center
Atlanta