Hanabusa IVF

They are the furthest thing you can find from the typical clinic that puts all of their patients on the exact same protocol & times cycles to fit their schedule! By your response & your body’s perfect timing no matter how inconvenient that may be for him & his staff. We are appreciative of their unyielding dedication to their patients & the time this approach takes away from their families to help us try to create our own. We have had wonderful experiences dealing with everyone at the clinic from the receptionists, nurses, administrative team to Dr. Chang.

Dr. Chang & his staff are not only our medical providers they have become our fertility family! They attend to us as if we are there only patients; have grieved with us through multiple pregnancy losses and deeply care about doing everything in their power to help us achieve success in our dream of becoming parents.

The nursing staff are the sweetest, most caring group of people I have encountered in the medical field. They are adept at blood draws, instructions and all other aspects of their jobs. They have taken a very personal interest in our journey and have celebrated our successes and grieved our losses along with us. We love them and consider them friends & fertility family!

Dr. Chang is a unicorn of a fertility specialist & the medical field at large. He is a highly intelligent, innovative, exceptional & caring doctor. He takes an intensely considered, evidence-based approach while being on cutting-edge of current research & is willing to let the patient try new therapies. He is personally involved in all aspects of my care, performs all monitoring ultrasounds himself. His timing for egg retrievals & transfers is impeccable, a true art & science. His bedside manner, egg retrieval & embryo transfer abilities are second to none! He is extremely gentle, steady & skilled in all that he does. (It’s also helpful that the needle he uses for retrievals is half the diameter of other clinics.) He provides extremely individualized care, adjusting protocols in cycle according to my body’s need a & response. I couldn’t dream of a better doctor!

Do not hesitate to consult with Dr. Chang! Ask questions & brainstorm on potential protocols for your individual situation. You can trust his advise & timing as it is impeccable. You will be in amazing hands with Dr. Chang & the entire Hanabusa staff.

Our protocols have ranged from completely natural cycles with egg retrieval to Mini IVF with oral Clomid, Mini IVF with Clomid + Gonal F, several with Cetrotide added (tried omnitrope experimentally for egg quality for several cycles) FET protocols: Natural prep with progesterone support (vaginal & oral) starting at natural ovulation Several Medicated with estradiol oral, sublingual & vaginal if indicated by lab monitoring, Progesterone vaginal + oral Prednisone 5mg & Lovenox injections for MTHFR mutations/clotting disorder & recurrent miscarriage. (aspirin allergy) All transfers resulted in pregnancies, that unfortunately ended in miscarriage. PGS testing. Currently one of only a few doctors in the US that is willing to allow patients to choose to attempt informed transfers embryos which showed PGS mosaic or certain abnormal biopsies. (based on recent studies showing self-correction resulting in normal births in percentage of embryos) He has had successful live births of chromosomal normal babies from transfer of these embryos.

They have good remote monitoring network, however if you do monitoring for blood test and ultrasound remotely, it even cost more than doing locally. All of the cost of mini IVF would depend on how many eggs you want to retrieve but their cost would even reasonable price compare to other good clinics.

Dr. and his staff welcome us care about well. Dr. Chang answered with his knowledge to our all of questions when we had a treatment. Dr. Had excellent communication skill to explain what is happening during the egg retrieval treatment.

The nursing team is fine but it's difficult to communicate with them from remotely. Several times nurses change upon asking questions, we start with one nurse and next time we follow up, someone else replies. So it's harder to exchange information because sometimes they don't seem to know exactly what our situation was from before. On the positive side they try their best to respond on time, are kind and compassionate.

He is a very professional doctor because of his skill and knowledge. I was with my wife during egg retrieval, Dr. Chang has an amazing skill set, to make procedure painless, he is also patient and kind.

If his patient lives remotely, I would like to suggest that you should have a skype meeting with him or meet in his office in San Diego. I recommend to ask him or his staff to make sure how remote procedure work and make clear any questions.

Medicated mini IVF cycle, first time with Gonal F, Cetrotide, second time Clomid and Gonal F (for just a few days). No good results yet.

one cycle depending on how many follicles are retrieved, can cost $7,000-11,000

he prefers single transfer unless there is a chance for multiple embryo transfer would deliver better results

The clinic is one that truly treats you as an individual, and is good if you're looking for smaller retrievals. You're not billed for a giant cycle, you're billed for your cycle. They listen to you, like understanding my concerns around breast cancer risk, and prescribing medications accordingly. They do have holiday closures, so that can prevent a cycle from moving through, but they worked with me to help me monitor even over the holidays. They also are very busy, so appointments can run a little late, but they work hard to stay on schedule.

Dr. Chang met with me in person to go over my goals. He has then been easily available to talk when I have questions. His staff knows me well and they were very caring too--even helping me on a holiday to get blood test results. Also, I'm not your standard patient, and he has worked through a series of protocols to see what I respond best to and explains why thoroughly.

The nursing staff is small, so even if I don't see the same person each time, I got to know them all, and they are very warm and caring. They answer questions, order prescriptions quickly and provide good care when going in for retrievals.

I was previously told that IVF would not work for me, so when I first saw Dr. Chang, he gave me hope. There's no standard protocol with him--I've done a natural cycle, injections and Clomid-only, and had two retrievals during several cycles. I'm not standard, and he works with that, seeing each patient as an individual.

I would say to be engaged in the process, sharing all your questions about what you're doing and why, because he's not just giving you a routine treatment, and so you can be part of it, not just on a standard program.

I have a high breast cancer risk, so I wanted to go with no- or low-stim treatments. I had one natural cycle, a couple Clomid-only and a couple with injections. Each produced eggs, but the quality and size differed. There were two cycles that included Clomid and a couple days of injections produced two embryos.

There is a standard retrieval cost based on your number of eggs. Mine was typically $4,900 for up to three eggs. The bloodwork was $150 each appointment and ultrasound/bloodwork was $400 each appointment.

N/A

Hnabusa is very organized and well coordinated. They continually provide great service, during both office visits and their follow up communication includes both email and phone calls based on the type of information they are communicating. Their emails are timely and quite through and they often would check in with me via phone to see how i was feeling

Dr. Chang treated me like a Human , not anumber. I felt his approach to my treatment was tailored specifically to my case . He made a Very difficult process, a little less difficult(if that's even possible) . His compassion and understanding of what this process/journey means to me, is amazing

although I was familiar with this process already , my nurse was very helpful and quite frankly instrumental in my treatment at Hanabusa IVF. She was through in her explanations and follow-up and helped to ease any uncertainty throughout process

I am currently in the process of seeking treatment at Hanabusa IVF and my experience so far has exceeded my expectations. I went to see Dr. Chang after a failed attempt at another facility. He came strongly recommeded by a friend, who had a difficult case and found success with Dr. Chang. I arrived at my first visit bringing with me extreme frustration and very little hope that it was possible for me to produce my own egg, as I have a very low egg reserve. After several discussions with Dr. Chang and just 1 cycle, he has already restored my hope with his aproach. I would HIGHLY recommend Dr. Chang at Hanabusa IVF

Be patient and trust him and the process. I went to see Dr. CHang with very little hope left, and through his approach and dedication he has convinced me that the production of an egg is actually possible for me.

As the Dr. Chang told me , we are looking for at least one good embryo and we are going to focus on that,n rather than have multiples. I agree with him to have a single embryo transfer in my case, because is very difficult to find at least one good quality egg

They are very busy. Communication is strong, almost always by email and everyone is CC'ed so someone always gets back to you. I do find thought that instructions differ sometimes depending on what nurse you are talking to no in major ways but some give you tips and further information which really helps especially if you are scheduling multiple medications. Like I was taking something (forget what) and not until the third nurse gave me instructions (your meds change all the time so you go on and off drugs a lot) did I understand why I was getting light headed and could adjust my pill taking to right before bed instead of in the morning thus avoiding the light headedness. I would call that a weakness and think they should put some standardization in place.

I like Dr Chang very much. His clinic has grown significantly since I begun treatment with him. I have felt the growing pains a bit in the ever increasing staff and the somewhat difficulty in getting appointment times that work for me. But he is always kind and never makes me feel rushed. Sometimes I have to prompt him to remember details about my case but that doesn't bother me really and his charts have very thorough notes.

Language can be an issue sometimes, for a lot of the nurses english isn't their first language. But I just aways ask for further explanation if I'm at all confused. And I will say as the clinic has grown over the y=ear I've been going there the nursing staff has diversified greatly so it's bit easier now to communicate. They are all very nice. Some are better at drawing blood than others but it's never that bad. Some get personal and chatty and that's not my jam but I see how it could make other patients feel more comfortable. I think its also important to mention the front desk staff as they are very much part of your care here. One I like very much, she's very tactful and kind, the other is overly chatty and a bit intrusive which is off putting for me.

I think his technique is incredible. When I started seeing him there were no other Dr's in my area (or outside of NYC I think) doing low stim natural cycle protocols with patient awake retrievals. That was huge for me, I hated being unconscious and hated the expense of it. (I did traditional IVF the first time). He talks you though every step of the retrieval and makes sure you understand everything going on and keeps a close eye on any pain or discomfort. He is a very compassionate and caring man.

Ask lots of questions. That would be true for any Dr though. Keep track of your cycles and results and any issues or thoughts. I do but my notes are minimal, I always wish I wrote more detail. Know you will sometimes have to prompt him or correct a statement. But know he's saying things out loud because your care is a conversation, and it should be (it wasn't so much with my first IVF Dr).

Dr Chang is a minimalist, unless you tell him you want to do higher stim (and your body cooperates). He uses natural cycle with minimal stimulation, very little to no prep. This makes is possible to cycle every month if you want to. This was key for me as I make very few eggs it was really important to me to closely examine every possibility. With him I have taken clomid, as well as injectables like Gonal F and Centrotide, BCP was the only prep I ever did as I have a tendency to create a large early lead follicle so we were always trying to slow that down in the hopes of getting more than 1.

We have some insurance coverage, and this was difficult to manage with them in the beginning. They don't take insurance, so it has to be reimbursement style. But the girl in charge of giving codes and handling doesn't speak english very well and had a generally negative attitude. She would often say things like "oh they are not going to cover that". Well, its your job to try. We multiple times had to ask her to call insurance and advocate for us. My husband was in charge of all the $$ so he had to deal with her and our insurance for the most part and I know it was frustrating for him. But ultimately we ended up getting some things covered that she said we wouldn't and we have gotten into a routine now for reimbursement submitting so we feel like we are doing ok. Cost wise, monitoring appointments are at $400, just blood work is $150. Retrievals are like 5K I think and transfers are around the same I think. Like I said I didn't have to handle the billing thank goodness, I would have a panic attack. I do know that cryopreservation is $800 and PGS testing (for 1 embryo) is about $1200 because insurance won't cover either of those things anymore.

Dr Chang would do what I wanted if i had strong views. He's open to multiple or single, whatever you want to do. If we had a normal embryo we would only transfer one (also we would most likely only ever end up with one), we are still working on that one normal though. But when we tried the abnormal embryos (all we have gotten so far during this process of trying for a second baby), we transferred 2 because the odds of either of them working were very slim.

The clinic is small, clean, and well decorated. One quirk is that the sperm collection room is right by reception so that's a bit awkward for the man giving the sperm sample. The exam rooms are comfortable and quit. I like the clinic overall.

Dr. Chang seems to really care about his patients. He took time to consult with me and my husband, and explain all our options. He is very hands on, and he was sensitive to our situation without sugar coating anything. He is kind and informative. He makes me believe there is hope.

The Hanabusa team is really small, so everyone knows you and you know everyone. I like the nursing staff. They accommodated my unique schedule, and always showed kindness. They also speak multiple languages. They are not great at drawing blood, but that is a minor issue.

I like Dr. Chang. He's really thoughtful. At each appointment he was very professional while also being sensitive to our situation and our feelings. At each appointment he would explain all the possible next steps, then take some time to digest this information himself and formulate a plan of action. He gave us options for treatment, and his recommendations, but ultimately let us choose our course of action.

Understand the infertility jargon so you know what your doctor is talking about.

Dr. Chang started with the least invasive treatment and as that did not work, he individualized treatment for us. We started with just medicine and timed intercourse, then we moved to IUI, and finally we tried IVF.

In total, we spent around 18,000. This included medication and timed intercourse, IUI, and IVF without embryo transfer. No viable embryos were created with our IVF cycle.

The Hanabusa IVF staff are amazing! It is always comforting to walk into the clinic. Everyone is warm, welcoming, kind, and friendly. I am doing this as a single woman, and wasn't sure if it would be weird, but the staff just makes you feel so comfortable. It's a smaller clinic, but it feels more personable and relaxing.

Beginning from my initial consultation, I have never once felt rushed. Dr. Chang takes the time to explain every treatment plan in detail and involves me in the planning process. I always feel like a priority and all my questions are taken seriously.

The nursing staff is amazing. They truly care about your progress. They take the time to email, or call with test results, answer questions, and are very knowledgeable about all the procedures. They are so supportive and positive, it really helps when going through such a difficult process.

When I was first introduced to Hanabusa IVF, I was emotionally exhausted. Six months prior I received the news (from my then OB) that I had diminished ovarian reserve, poor egg quality, was too old, and basically missed my opportunity to have a biological child of my own. On top of that I also found out that I had a large uterine fibroid, and told fertility clinics wouldn’t even work with me unless I had it removed. It was recommended that I pursue donor eggs as my only option, I was devastated. But I pulled myself together, and decided I was not ready to give up. I did not want to look back with regret that I didn’t do everything I could to try, before turning 42 years-old. First I found a new OB, who was honest with me about my odds and obstacles, but also gave me hope that all was not lost. Then, I reached out to a friend, whom had gone through IVF, and was successful. She recommended Hanabusa IVF because, she was very impressed and appreciative with how Dr. Chang individualized his care and treatment for her. I really like that he studies a cycle thoroughly, adjusting and fine-tuning the treatment according to what is right for one’s own body at a particular cycle stage.

More cycles may be need to be performed, but there is less pressure of having to succeed at every cycle; with each cycle more information is gained to provide the best possibility for a successful outcome.

Dr. Chang uses a minimal stimulation approach. His view is to create less but better quality embryos using less drugs; allowing a few good quality embryos to be collected at the rate my own bodies delivers them and put them back in later at cycles. I feel this is a more natural way to proceed, and less stressful by not introducing unnecessary hormones to my body. So far have used low does birth control and progesterone. These have been needed to prevent me from ovulating too early and allowing the follicles/embryos to all grow at the same rate. Producing more viable options for retrieval.

Dr. Chang's costs are very reasonable compared to what most all other IVF clinics charge, they charge for IVF by steps, rather than in one overall payment He makes every effort to keep costs low. He even provided me with the name of several pharmacies in the area who sell my medications at the best prices. He offers his honest opinion about how to proceed, even if it is not the outcome that will be the most profitable, taking into consideration what the best course of action is financially for the patients needs.

Strengths- Dr. Chang is very well educated. He took the time to study all our previous lab, IVF results to come up with the best game plan he could. He sat with us and answered any questions we had. Weakness- The wait time to get our first consultation was about 3 months. I am assuming it was because it was around the holiday season but it was pretty long.

Dr. Chang was very personable and took the time to do research and provide us with answers every step of the way. Dr. Chang would reach out on weekends letting us know if any new information came to him.

Every appointment they were very on top of my care. They made sure I was as comfortable as possible and was there for me whenever I needed. I had to call in a few times to ask questions about my prescriptions or any general questions and they were very quick to respond.

Dr. Change was very personable with me and my husband. He took our all past IUI/IVF treatments and studied the outcomes from those to help us create a plan to have a successful IVF cycle. He always made us feel welcomed and would reach out to us throughout the entire process. He also provided information regarding embryo testing and when we had negatives on all embryos, he took the time to research what happened and brought us in on his time to explain the tough answers. Knowing how hard it was, he was always helpful and gave us multiple options for our next step in our journal to becoming parents. I will continue to trust Dr. Chang and use him as we look to continue our IVF journey.

Please ask him all of your questions. There is so much information on IVF and he will gladly get you answers to your questions without hesitation.

50mg Chlomid for the first 5 days of my cycle,150ml Gonal F starting day 2, HCG trigger shot on cycle day 10, egg retrieval on day 12. I produce many follicles at once and Dr. Chang wanted to make sure I didn't over stimulate. His strategy was quality over quantity.

Consultation- $200 Monitoring- $400 a visit Egg Retrieval-Depends on how many eggs were retrieved. Mine was $12,000

We didn't get far enough to talk about how many we would transfer.

There are many emotions that come with the fertility process. Having fertility difficulties and can be a sensitive topic and at times you feel hopeless. But, the team at Hanabusa Fertility clinic helps encourage you and understands the importance of the process. They are empathetic to your emotions, they are with you every step of the way, and take your success or difficulties to heart.

The staff and Dr. Chang greet you by name and remember details about your care that makes you feel important. From the front office receptionists, nursing staff, and embryologists, they are all there to serve you and help make your treatment as seamless as possible.

My care coordinator provided specific details of my plan of care after each office visit and after my lab results were assessed. She would provide specific medication dosages and details of when to take these. The only trouble I had was one instance of miscommunication. I needed a medication to be ordered from a specialty pharmacy, and it was not placed. However, the mistake was quickly corrected in a timely manner.

I was referred to Dr. Chang at Hanabusa Fertility Clinic after finding out that I had a low AMH level indicating low ovarian reserve. This news was heart breaking, as I was only 30 years old. My husband and I tried IUI treatments, without success for a few years. We finally met with Dr. Chang and his team to discuss our options. He spent time with us, discussing those options and reviewing my health history to assess for potential difficulties. He helped ease our minds about the IVF process, and we decided to move forward with the egg retrieval process. Dr. Chang understands that each patient is unique, therefore he has developed a patient-driven clinic that is far from cookie-cutter.

Dr. Chang and his team are very willing to give you time in person, via email, or on the phone to discuss any questions or concerns. Use that to gain as much knowledge and ask as many questions as you can to help you decide what treatment route to take.

Due to my low AMH levels, I had to have a low-stimulation IVF cycle. This meant that Dr. Chang would monitor me with blood work and ultrasounds every 2 days to ensure that the medication dosages were correct. He would make changes to increase or decrease certain medications dependent upon lab results. His team of nurses would then communicate with me via email to make a specific detailed itinerary of when to take certain meds and at what dosage. Very specific to my body and cycle.

I did my research before choosing Hanabusa, and realized that their prices/costs seemed to be in line with other facilities. They are very clear about the costs for each specific procedure, so there are no hidden fees or surprise costs that arise.

My husband and I never made it to the transfer process. However, Dr. Chang did discuss that he prefers eSET vs multiple embryo transfers to decrease chances of one embryo degenerating and taking the other one with it.

The clinic overall is great! It's modern and welcoming. The receptionists are fantastic - even complementary coffee and/or tea while you wait. There is plenty of free parking and easy access to the clinic off the highway.

Dr. Chang has an incredible bedside manner. He's caring and you truly feel that he wants the best for you.

The nursing staff is great at Hanabusa! They area always gentle and supportive, always patient with answering any questions we have. The only minor critique would be that in communicating with nurses via email, sometimes I think they assumed that Dr. Chang was getting information on an email thread, but I don't think he really did. Or it went un-noticed by Dr. Chang as I'm sure he's bombarded with emails. I think any follow up information that needs Dr. Chang to take action on should be communicated differently to ensure he receives the information. That only occurred once, but I find that there can be some minor miscommunication via emails. I think calling or making a follow up appointment with Dr. Chang is more effective way to ensure all follow up questions are answered as he is more than happy to sit down with you. But overall, everything usually is great!

Dr. Chang is very personable and always greeted us warmly. He was gentle and thorough at our appointments and always answered all of our questions. My husband and I truly trust Dr. Chang's expertise as I know he is a leader in the field with MiniIVF. One of the big differences I hear from others, when I describe my experience with Dr. Chang, is that he customizes your protocol throughout your cycle and adjusts it depending on how your follicles are responding. Where as other clinics will put you on a pre-determined protocol. You're truly getting individualized treatment.

MiniIVF is unique and although it's cheaper than traditional IVF, you're more likely to have to do multiple cycles. That's why it's better, in our opinion, to do this approach when you're older and have DOR. The focus is on quality, not quantity of eggs. So you might only get a few per cycle but it increases your odds to potentially get a 'normal' embryo.

As mentioned previously, he individualizes each protocol for each person. But typically, I would start on birth control to suppress and then come in for monitoring on day 3 of my period. If all looked good (follicles and hormone levels from blood tests) then we would proceed with usually clomid and gonal F. As another reviewer mentioned, yes there were many times when a cycle didn't look like a good start, so we had to skip it. But with miniIVF, the beauty is that you can try to start again the next month with your cycle. So you have to be patient. We are still going through the process and have one PGS normal embryo so far - fingers crossed we get at least one more!

Costs for egg retrevials are dependent upon how many eggs Dr. Chang retrieves - varies but around $6500 I think. Typical cycle with monitoring appointments ran around 12k. Billing is ala cart - you only pay as you go for what you need. So it's easy to cancel a cycle because you didn't pay anything up front. Know that medications are determined at each monitoring appointment, so you can't order medications ahead of time. He'll only order what you need until the next monitoring and you can pick it up that day.

Although we have not progressed to the point of transferring the embryos yet, Dr. Chang has recommended transferring 1 embryo at a time. For us, I think that is the best approach as it allows us for multiple opportunities for a successful transfer.

Small staff means everything is tightly controlled. Dr Chang is personally involved in every step, which I loved. I felt all the way like they cared about me personally. Clinic seems to be state of the art. Also, they charge for IVF by steps, rather than in one global payment, so it ends up being cheaper than other clinics I encountered.

Dr Chang deeply cares about his patients. He is always prepared for our meetings, and is extremely transparent about his thinking. It's very clear that he takes ever success and failure very personally.

Generally very sweet and caring nursing staff. I had a couple of bumps in the road when one NP read my record wrong and said I had an abnormal pap, and one time an incorrect dose of meds was called in to the pharmacy (or the pharmacy messed up the order). But generally they are really on top of things.

The thing I love about Dr Chang, as compared to other doctors I've had, is that he has been completely transparent with us each step of the way, formed theories about what might be going on, and explained those clearly each step of the way. It also appeals to me that he does not blindly want to medicate you, but rather wants to determine the minimal course of action that will lead to the desired result. Dr Chang believes that your body knows best, and I love that about him. He is also far more transparent about the probability of making a normal embryo for a woman my age than my previous docs, so that the expectations were set more realistically. Finally, he takes your success or failure personally. It's clear that he deeply cares about his patients.

Ask questions - he welcomes them.

Mini IVF - clomid and gonal F only.

About $10,000 per cycle so far

The clinic tailor's the treatment according to each patient. I had talked to another patient (who is my acupuncturist) & realized her treatment was different. This was assuring and satisfying. Elizabeth & Laura who are at the front desk provide excellent customer interaction and care. Effie - Finance lady once charged me $4900 for IVF cycle even though they had retrieved 3 eggs. The actual price would have been approx $5900. In addition, she send me research paperwork and gave me insight into a product. Words alone would never capture my sincerest gratitude and caring staff

Dr Chang and his staff are truly kind and genuinely caring and warm. They have always remembered my name. Unlike other clinics they would recall me by my chart #.

They were all kind and warm in every interaction with each one of them.

More than being a professional, Dr. Chang is an extraordinary human being. Strengths: Caring, Willing to try out different plans each time, knowledgeable in that he will always inform me of the best options & give me a suggestion. He has once humbly admitted a mistake in the timing of a failed retrieval in which I ovulated early. That did truly touch me. He even asked the finance lady not to charge me for that visit. Who does that?? Weakness: I have not noticed any.

Listen to the doctor at all times and ask as many questions as he truly does listen

He used the mini IVF with minimal drugs 1) 1st treatment: Clomid (50mg), Gonal F 150IU & Lupron - 6 eggs retrieved and none progressed to blastocyst 2rd treatment: Clomid (100mg) & Ovidrel - Ovulated same day I was scheduled for a retrieval 3rd treatment: Clomid (100mg) & Ovidrel - Ovulated 10 minutes before my scheduled retrieval. However, they performed IUI. Negative pregnancy result 4th treatment: Gonal F 150 (2 times) & 225IU (once), Cetrotide 0.25 mg & Ovidrel 250 mcg - 3 eggs retrieved and none progressed to blastocyst again

I always love monitoring as I am able to see the progression of my follicles

Blood work & Ultrasound monitoring = $ 400 per visit IVF cycle (local anesthesia, frozen donor sperm, ICSI, culture to blastocyst & freeze) = approx $12,800 Initial Consultation = $250

I have not reached that stage yet nor had the conversation with the doctor regarding eSET vs. multiple embryo tansfer

I have nothing but nice things to say about my doctor, the staff, and the clinic as a whole. The clinic itself is located in beautiful San Diego and it is very modern and clean. It is very nice in appearance & quite comfortable as well (always soothing music playing in the background, etc.) I never feel weird walking into the clinic & the staff are actually quite a joy to talk to. It sounds strange, but I look forward to saying hello to them each time. All staff (doctor, nurse, embryology team, admin., finance) are all very helpful & super friendly. They always have a smile on their faces, even though I'm sure they are exhausted from the level of work they do! I hope they know how appreciated they all are.

Dr. Chang has wonderful bedside manner & explains all treatment plans in detail. He is incredibly knowledgable, but still simplifies for patients who may not have a strong medical background. He is personable & empathetic towards his patients' needs (without pitying them, of course). You can tell he genuinely cares about your success.

The nursing staff at Hanabusa IVF are incredible. They are utterly dedicated to your care & they work tirelessly to email your lab test results, set up egg retrieval appointments, etc. I have tests nearly every week and I know there are many other patients in the same situation, so the nurse are doing A LOT of follow up work! I sincerely appreciate all of the work they and the doctor put in. It doesn't go unnoticed! I see food & gifts patients have brought them and it's no surprise because they are all so wonderful.

Dr. Lyndon Chang is a wonderful doctor. He knows what he is talking about & is very effective in his communication with his patients & staff. He takes the time to answer questions, even though he is a busy man. He is very sincere & genuine, with a great attention to detail. He works with great precision completing egg retrievals, ultrasounds, medication schedules... he does it all! I appreciate the time he takes to handle my very complex fertility situation.

My advice for a prospective patient of Dr. Chang's would be to come prepared with all of your former treatment notes, lab results, & goals/aspirations to your initial consultation. This will allow the doctor to get a clear picture of what your situation is so that he can formulate the best care plan for you. He will make his own assessments of course, but the more info. you prepare in advance, the better for all parties! At Dr. Chang's clinic, you will be treated better than most all other clinics you will attempt to visit first. Not only that, you will also likely have more successful treatment with Dr. Chang as well. He & his entire staff are extremely dedicated to a high level of care for the patients. They all deserve huge rewards for their continued efforts!

I have been treated mostly with bio-identical hormones (estrogen troche & vaginal progesterone pills), but I also take Ovidrel, Cetrotide, & Gonal F injectible medications to prepare me for an egg retrieval cycle. I have occasionally taken Clomid pills as well. I undergo routine bi-weekly blood tests to determine my hormone levels. After receiving those lab results, Dr. Chang emails me with my new treatment plan (he adjusts the dosages of the estrogen & progesterone) or he notifies me that an egg is growing & that I will need to prepare for an upcoming egg retrieval.

All of Dr. Chang's costs are very reasonable compared to what most all other IVF clinics will charge. He makes sure to keep costs low, especially for patients like me who will need to undergo several egg retrieval cycles. It's just another way that I can tell he cares. He even provided me with the name of several pharmacies in the area who sell my medications at the best prices. I appreciated this! Hanabusa IVF doesn't price gouging like so many other clinics do. Fertility struggles are already hardship enough for most people & they understand this very well :-)

I have not discussed multiple vs. single embryo transfers with my doctor yet as my fertility situation will only allow for a single embryo transfer anyway :-).

The clinic is very clean, nice, and pleasant. They always play soothing music and since all of the staff are so friendly, it's easy to feel at ease right away. The clinic is very professional looking and uses current, high end technology (they have their own lab & do the egg retrievals there). It's a very nice place, in a great location. The clinic is very organized & doesn't rush you around like many other clinics do.

Dr. Chang is very caring & genuine. He wants to see his patients succeed with his whole heart. He is very busy, but always makes times to see the patients & answer their questions.

The nursing staff is great. They are always busy sending patient lab results & records. They work hard to make sure you don't run out of medicines & that you feel great after an egg retrieval. They are all so sweet & kind, as well as very capable of their jobs. I appreciate the time they take in their follow up care after I go in for a blood test.

My experience with Dr. Chang has been wonderful. He is truly one of the best fertility doctors out there. Not only is he very skilled, he is honest & genuine. He has great bedside manner and is knowledgeable. He welcomes questions and doesn't make you feel inferior for asking them. I can tell he cares about me as a patient and he treats his staff and patients with care. His staff love him and say he is a good man.

My advice would be to come prepared with all of your treatment notes so that Dr. Chang will have a good overview of your medical & fertility history. The more information he has, the better he can treat you.

Dr. Chang has me on oral estrogen & vaginal progesterone pills regularly. Right before an egg retrieval, he puts me on Ovidrel trigger shot, Cetrotide, & Gonal F. I am unsure of how he chooses to use these meds, but I fully trust he knows what to do with them far more than me! I know the estrogen is used to keep my FSH & LH numbers lower (mine tend to be quite high).

Dr. Chang's prices are very reasonable. Lower than most other fertility doctors charge. I appreciate that because not everyone can afford IVF. It just goes to show how much he cares about his patients. He has a very good understanding of how financially straining IVF cycles are to a patient.

Unsure of my doctor's viewpoints on this topic.

The clinic is only one year old, but it is already thriving. The staff is great and quite organized. However, because they got so busy so fast, communication became a little challenging. I think they have it squared away now, though.

Most of the time, Dr. Chang is amazing, returning emails promptly and calling me back even late into the night when I am confused or worried. He explain everything at great detail. However, after our 6th retrieval with him that failed miserably, we didn't get an email and it took several weeks to communicate with him. While it was a busy time (the holidays), we felt devastated and would have loved to have received an email or phone call regarding such a bad cycle. Following that cycle, he and I eventually talked and I relayed to him my disappointment regarding the lack of communication. He now replies to all of my emails and phone calls within a few hours. He gets it. :)

So patient. Very educated. Top notch service.

Dr. Chang is VERY knowledgeable. He is cutting edge. He is an out-of-the-box thinker and doctor. He takes some of the most difficult cases with woman such as me whose egg count is diminishing significantly and whose egg quality is not always the best and gives them hope. I was told to use donor eggs after our embryos didn't make it past day three during our first egg retrieval with another doctor. I found Dr. Chang, who uses a unique approach called "Mini IVF," which simply means less medication so as to coax out the eggs and not drown them with medicine. At first, it was tough, because each new cycle, Dr. Chang would check my hormone levels and follicles and if they weren't perfectly balancing each other, he didn't want to move ahead with the cycle. He taught me patience in that respect. But eventually, his methodical approach worked and we got two normal embryos after cycle 3 and 4. Following those cycles, we didn't have much success with retrievals 5, 6, and 7, all of which ended in abnormal embryos. While we had a few issues with communication with Dr. Chang from time to time, he eventually understood how important it is to me to promptly return my emails and calls. He provides thorough information and ensures I gain clarity.

Make sure you tell Dr. Chang how you best prefer to communicate and what works for you in regards to communication. He is an amazing doctor--so progressive. However, his clinic is getting busy, so it's really important that he knows you need very quick communication, if necessary.

With Mini IVF, you approach each cycle quite methodically. I often have a dominant follicle that is very quick to develop. So, at first, I hated cancelling a cycle, but I soon learned how to be more patient and wait for the "right" cycle, so that my dominant follicle didn't kill off all the rest. With each Mini IVF cycle, on day 4 or 5, you typically take Clomid. Then, around day 7 or 8, you begin taking low doses of Follistim. Ganirelix might be added around day 10 to avoid premature ovulation. But each cycle could be different. For example, I would sometimes start Follistim earlier, or take Clomid for less time. It just depends on how many follicles I have and what my hormone levels indicate. For Dr. Chang, it's a balancing act--one that requires patience and precision. I would trigger and 36 hours later go in for egg retrieval. Because Dr. Chang is San Diego, and I live in Los Angeles, I did all of my ultra sounds and blood work with Dr. Jain in Los Angeles, and he would fax the results down to Dr. Chang. It was a little tiring, because I'd often not get results back until later in the day. Nonetheless, come egg retrieval time, my fiance and I would drive down to San Diego the night before, get a hotel room, and then wake up the following morning for the procedure. During the procedure, I am completely awake. I don't take any medication, aside from a few IbuProfen. I am not medicated because Dr. Chang uses a very tiny needle to extract the eggs and has a unique method where you breath very deeply as he pulls out the eggs. Most of my procedures didn't hurt; however, for some of them, they were painful. But, I liked not being zapped out for the rest of the day, as you would if you were under normal anesthesia. As a result of such a unique method, one cycle one with Dr. Chang, we got 4 eggs. All fertilized and 2 made it to blast. They came back abnormal. Cycle #2, we got three eggs. 1 fertilized normally, and 1 abnormally. The other didn't fertilize. One made it to blast and came back PGS normal. One cycle #3, we got 4 eggs. All 4 fertilized and 2 made it to blast. One came back PGS normal. On cycle #4, 3 were retrieved, 2 fertilized, and only one made it to blast, which was abnormal. For cycle #5, we got 2 eggs and both fertilized; one made it to blast and was abnormal. On cycle #6, we retrieved 5 eggs, 3 fertilized, and none made it to blast.

I did outside monitoring at another office, since Dr. Chang was not in my area.

Because it's Mini IVF, it's less expensive. Nonetheless, we did 6 retrievals with them. They gave us a discount for doing so many cycles.

I felt at times there was a language barrier when dealing with some of the office staff. In the positive side everyone seems to be very kind and tries to be helpful. Sometimes there is some disorganization, in keeping track of paperwork. Each year the organization seems to improve, so they seem to be working on it.

He individualizes each cycle protocol according to your labs results. He is the only doctor in the office and did all my u/s, until he got a NP and then you had a choice of who you can see.

They are very kind and sweet. It is a newer clinic so most of the staff had never worked in a infertility clinic. So they are figuring out and improving in areas.

He is willing to work with “difficult cases,” he is kind with great bedside manners. The care is very individualized. He practice is getting busier and there are times when you only having one doctor is the office is a downfall.

Be open to unconventional protocols, know that with each lab drawn, your protocol and next appoint date may change.

Basically we tried to do things as natural as possible. I have DOR, I did not respond to medications, so we our goal was quality embryos not quantity .

There have been changes to the clinic pricing throughout my time at this clinic.

He was open to hearing our thoughts and suggesting what embryo he thought would be best to transfer. He was open to one or two embryos per transfer.

The clinic is a smaller one but regardless they try hard to support patient’s needs. It was at times challenging to communicate and get answers on time as we are doing outside monitoring elsewhere and located in another city. The clinic is very modern and the mini ivf egg retrieval is a big plus in its technology and with the doctor’s expertise. The clinic’s manager also tries very hard to solve issues and make improvements.

He is a warm, emphatic doctor, knowledgeable, and took time to communicate with us in a caring way.

It was great that they tried to answer my questions as soon as they could however at times I didn’t get a response quick enough, or follow-up when needed on issues, also a bit distracting to be communicating with various nurses over one cycle instead of one dedicated to my case.

He has years of experience in mini ivf, and helping women of different issues and ages. He shows support in terms of our care, and has a positive but realistic view on tough cases. He takes time to explain options when needed. At mini ivf egg retrieval surgery he has great bedside manner and makes the procedure as pain free and positive as he can.

Prepare for the emotional and financial hardship with ivf process.

Lowering fsh with birth control pill. Gonal f, cetrotide, ovidrel before egg retrieval. Letrozole before iui. No positive pregnancy results yet.

mini ivf procedure cost varies depending on egg retrieval medications for ivf less than general ivf

He suggests transferring one embryo unless they are mixed.

They are all very kind, highly skilled and take great care of their patients. They know you individually and will do anything it takes to ensure your good care. The facility is clean and high-tech. I like that everything is done on premise.

Dr Chang and all of his nurses were very kind to me. I felt like they truly cared about my outcome.

They were always willing to help, even during off hours. They were very supportive and kind. They were quick to respond and although I have a fairly flexible schedule they were very accommodating.

Dr Chang was very straight-forward and had a good bedside manner. He was honest, yet kind. He took the time to explain everything to us and was available if I had any questions. He made good suggestions and although our results were not what we had hoped I would still recommend working with him and his team.

I would be a bit more careful about getting patients hopes up.

At Hanabusa IVF they use minimal stimulation. I only had one injection a day (300mg Gonal F), and it was only for about a week. You are awake for the retrieval which is fascinating, and not painful. They did not use ICSI for my treatment.

They were incredibly reasonable, under $10,000 for the entire IVF process. Because they use a minimal amount of drugs I spent only about $1000 on them.

The clinic and facilities are quiet, tranquil, and very clean with easy parking. The staff are all very helpful and caring. You can tell that they are all rooting for your success. There are no weaknesses that I can think of.

Dr Chang always took the time to answer my questions and respond to them thoughtfully. He has a soothing and calm persona that I appreciate.

Helpful, nice, pleasant, caring

Dr Chang is knowledgeable and extremely intelligent. He is reasonable and open to modifying the treatment plan according to my wishes. He listens and is responsive to my questions and concerns. Treating another physician can often be difficult, but he has treated me fairly and compassionately. He is able to speak to me as a medical professional without condescension or judgement.

Be patient with the process- I’m still working on this myself

Dr Chang specializes in mini-IVF, so I took clomid and lower doses of gonal F the weeks leading up to egg retrieval. He was able to retrieve 5 eggs and 4 made it to PGS testing at day 5, unfortunately every embryo came back abnormal. Currently gearing up for my next round

Egg retrieval $6800; PGS testing $800 per embryo, lab draws $350 per draw, medications $1800, frozen transfer $3500; total for one cycle approximately $13500

The clinic is calm and relaxing. They go the extra mile to make the surroundings as calming as possible. There is soft music, refreshments, and flowers. The office staff are very sweet, kind, and knowledgeable. They also make scheduling very easy.

Dr. Chang explains his rationale, decision-making, and is a very conscientious person. The office staff and nurses are very warm and caring.

The nursing staff are very kind and compassionate. They make sure all my questions are answered and communicate frequently.

Dr. Chang performed all the ultrasounds himself. The continuity between visits and the ability to speak with him directly was invaluable when having to make difficult decisions. He spent the time to hear our needs and goals. I always felt respected and empowered to make decisions while in the hands of a trusted doctor to give me the information in order to do so.

Seek out an trusted support system to help you in this process.

Dr. Chang specializes in low ovarian reserve patients. He uses a less aggressive protocol with the goal to achieve high quality eggs versus quantity.

Ultrasound $400, egg retrieval $1700, PGS $800 per embryo, Frozen embryo transfer $2600

In my experience, each and every person there has made an attempt to get to know me. They are willing to go above and beyond for me, and have really helped guide me throughout this entire process. The clinic is run very well, and they do a great job at keeping it a happy, yet calming environment.

The office staff and doctor would remember personal things about me every time I would come in. They were friendly and nice to me at every visit. When I had a miscarriage they cried with me.

They are all a wonderful bunch of people. They all know me by name, and they remember personal details about me every time I come in. They really started to feel like extended family.

Dr. Chang is a smart, and compassionate physician. He appears to love what he does. He took the time to talk to me, and consider me and my body in every decision we made, and did not try to put me in a "cookie cutter" plan that is used at other clinics.

I wish I would have seen him sooner, so my advice would be to start with him.

He did a mini IVF cycle. This worked for me with diminished ovarian reserve.

I do not remember the exact costs, but they were similar to other clinics in the area.

none

Very responsive, knowledgeable. They book up quick so scheduling appointments. is sometimes difficult due to schedules. They help develop cost effective strategies to help manage your budget. Centrally located in San Diego and easy to find. Facilities are clean, modern and have an inviting feel.

He seemed to listen to all our issues, ideas and concerns. He approached all the situations with an open mind and seemed to be there to help us, not sell us and force us in a certain direction.

Everyone there greeted us with a smile and were very engaging. You felt a good family vibe here which is one reason we continued our journey with them.

Dr. Chang seem truly passionate and well educated to help guide you on the journey you partake on when it comes to IVF. He was very willing to take the time to answer all our question and explain in detail. He never made us feel rushed.

Maybe not use the term "an act of god" when explaining why a transfer unexpectedly did not result in a pregnancy. We already feel punished in some way due to the fact we can't be blessed naturally with children.

The office is very friendly and compassionate. They treat you like a VIP. All the office staffs are willing to help. It's a boutique clinic gives you personal attention not like others. However, insurance options are very limited.

Dr Chang is with us every visit and gave us detail explanation of our treatments and did not rush his time.

My nurse Daphne is diligent and follow up quickly. She is very attentive to details and very caring.

Dr Chang is a very attentive who listen to his patients. He is a bit of a perfectionist, and will try to give the best care for his patients. He is very knowledgeable and willing to work with you to personalized your treatment.

Don't hesitate to ask your questions and your thoughts with Dr. Chang.

Artificial cycle transferring frozen embryo.

The insurance option is limited. They do charge a lab review fee to review your lab result which is kinda expensive.

Dr Chang suggested eSET because of my age and previous uterus surgeries.