The second cycle the only thing he [Dr. Hershlag] did differently was stim me for a day longer and lowered my Menopur a little...He was on vacation throughout my first cycle and I have no idea who was in charge of stimming and triggering me...I don’t believe there was a specific strategy... my two egg retrieval’s were basic protocol...He preferred eSET. The first FET was eSET because it was PGS/PGD normal and the second one we put in 2 embryos because 1 didn’t have enough data from the biopsy to be tested and we only had 2 left to transfer anyway. He didn’t want to do this but we insisted. Both FETs were failures and both had at least one PGS tested embryo transferred.
The place [Northwell Health] is a factory and if you want very individualized personal care your not going to get it here... There are times when the nurses and doctors expect you to know what they’re doing and they don’t explain anything. You need to stop them and ask questions. You have to keep on track of the treatment plan as often times the nurses and doctors will ask you... “what are we doing again”. Very reassuring when your paying $17,000 out of pocket for treatment.
How was your experience with Avner Hershlag at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish)?
Dr. Hershlag seems to have good intentions, however has way too many patients that he can’t remember what he’s doing with everyone. There were several times where I had to remind him what we were doing which was very frustrating. All he had to do was take a look at notes from our previous meeting to prepare himself but he doesn’t. I’m just a number to him. Only really saw him for my embryo transfers. He didn’t do one of my egg retrieval’s and a nurse practitioner did my IUI... never saw him throughout both stim cycles or IUI cycle. I feel like my care was just basic protocol and not geared to me individually. The place is a factory.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Avner Hershlag at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish)?
Make sure you go into a meeting with him with written down specific questions and take notes of exactly what he says. Don’t let him rush you into a decision. Ask follow up questions. You have to be your own advocate.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Avner Hershlag at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish)?
The clinic is like a factory. I have barely seen my actual doctor less than half the time I’m there. Dr. Hershlag never reviewed my file prior to meeting with me and forgot everything we discussed and the plan of action we finalized moving forward. The nurses were the only ones who knew everything and treated us like humans.
Describe the protocols Avner Hershlag used in your cycles at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish) and their degree of success.
I don’t believe there was a specific strategy... my two egg retrieval’s were basic protocol. The second cycle the only thing he did differently was stim me for a day longer and lowered my Menopur a little. First cycle we got only 1, 7day old embryo and second cycle 3, 6-7 day old embryos. We had a total of 22 eggs retrieved, both cycles combined. The first egg retrieval I was triggered with only 1,000 units of hcg which is why I think I barely had any mature eggs (4, from 12). The second cycle I was triggered with 10,000 units of hcg and had 6 out of 10 mature eggs. He was on vacation throughout my first cycle and I have no idea who was in charge of stimming and triggering me. Also first egg retrieval was done by a dr I’ve never met from the other clinic location.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish). (Assigned nurse: Jackie)
Nurses are very sweet and caring. Sometimes it’s difficult to get in touch with the nurse or clinic for that matter when you have an important question. I felt like my nurse was my dr and that I barely had a doctor. She did make one major mistake by sending the wrong requisition form to the PGS lab. This was resolved but created a 2 week setback for my first embryo transfer.
Describe your experience with Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish).
The place is a factory and if you want very individualized personal care your not going to get it here. I’m not sure about the other doctors in this office but with my doctor you just simply didn’t get it. You will be many of the other doctors during your time here and some are better than others. There are times when the nurses and doctors expect you to know what they’re doing and they don’t explain anything. You need to stop them and ask questions. You have to keep on track of the treatment plan as often times the nurses and doctors will ask you... “what are we doing again”. Very reassuring when your paying $17,000 out of pocket for treatment.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish).
It was a factory... come on in between 7-8 am for blood and sono. Some days you would get in and out fast, others you would wait an hour. It’s hit or miss.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Avner Hershlag at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish).
Our first ivf cycle was a PGS/PGD cycle that cost us $17,000. Meds are not included and that cost us about $4,000 (which we paid twice because we did two egg retrieval’s). The second egg retrieval was $10,000 because we had some credit from the first cycle. Our lab testing for 4 embryos (PGS/PGD) was $4,600 (coopergenomics). The first FET was included in the price and second FET was $4,000. Anesthesia for each egg retrieval was $500 each time.
Describe Avner Hershlag's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish).
He preferred eSET. The first FET was eSET because it was PGS/PGD normal and the second one we put in 2 embryos because 1 didn’t have enough data from the biopsy to be tested and we only had 2 left to transfer anyway. He didn’t want to do this but we insisted. Both FETs were failures and both had at least one PGS tested embryo transferred.
What specific things went wrong at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish)?
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to call with results
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish).
There were two times during the two cycles I’ve done where the office just didn’t call me with my stim protocol or leave a message so I had to guess to take the same dosage of medicine from my stim the previous day. They say I will get a call by 5pm but if you don’t then the office is closed and there’s no one to get in touch with for the answer. The clinic also sent the wrong requisition form to the lab for my biopsies. They sent them to be banked and not tested, meanwhile we wanted them tested and were prepping with Estrace for our FET. The clinic told us to call the lab for results and when we called they said they had no results becaue our clinic never told them to test the biopsies. They eventually tested but it set back our transfer for 2 weeks. I was very disappointed with our clinic after this.
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Clinic
Northwell Health (FKA North Shore Long Island Jewish)
Manhasset