Shady Grove Fertility Pennsylvania

Our experience with Dr. Kallen was incredibly disheartening and upsetting. There was no personal approach to my treatment, he never suggested running any additional testing and he jumped right to the most expensive treatment options. He was incredibly pushy and I would never trust him as my doctor. We only had two appointments with Dr. Kallen, our initial consult and the treatment consult, both of which were done over Telehealth calls. After receiving what seemed like good news from our nurses, our treatment consult felt incredibly misleading and confusing. Dr. Kallen ran through our testing quickly, said that everything looked okay except my low AMH levels and then immediately went on to explain why IVF was necessary. He spent a majority of the appointment running through all of the financial packages that SGF offers for IVF, which felt like a business push instead of a focused/personal treatment plan for us. He ended the appointment by saying that our numbers were extremely concerning, which contradicted what he said at the beginning of the appointment, leaving us extremely confused and upset. My husband and I decided to get a second opinion with MLF where they ran additional mid-cycle testing, which Dr. Kallen never suggested or mentioned. This testing led them to find out that I am not ovulating, a situation that can be fixed with medication. For comparison, MLF has NEVER even talked to us about IVF, as it would be the absolute last resort if the less intense treatment options do not work. Because Dr. Kallen never suggested running these additional tests, there is a possibility that we could have put ourselves through extremely expensive fertility treatments and I could have put my body though something that was completely unnecessary, which is the most frustrating and upsetting part of our experience with Dr. Kallen.

Be an advocate for your own health. If something doesn't feel right, seek a second opinion. But overall, I would not recommend Dr. Kallen as a doctor to anyone.

Dr. Kallen suggested that we could try IUI, but focused on the fact that the success rates are not high. He mostly pushed for IVF.

N/A

Dr. Kallen is very no-nonsense and clinical. While I don't expect every doctor to have a wonderful, cheerful personality, his is less than ideal for women going through the very emotional and stressful infertility process. Unless you ask a specific question he does not volunteer information. Each monitoring appointment was very quick and he offered no opinion as to how I was progressing - I had to wait until my nurse called with blood test results to get more information on what was seen on the ultrasound. I also learned that he is pretty conservative/traditional in his approach. I specifically had to ask about other treatments I had read about that may be better suited for my diagnosis. I didn't feel like he was up on the latest studies or open to alternative treatments (even ones that are commonly used by other clinics). These factors ultimately lead to us finding another doctor/clinic.

If personality is not important, and standard, by-the-book treatment is ok with you, Dr. Kallen is just fine. If you want more personalized care look elsewhere.

I was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve during my first appointment. Dr. Kallen told us that IVF would be our best option, but also said we could consider IUI - ultimately the decision was ours. We ultimately moved forward with IVF and did a pretty standard antagonist protocol - Gonal-F, Menopur and Cetrotide. I was considered a poor responder, and Dr. Kallen pushed more meds at the end of the cycle to try to produce adequately-sized follicles. We ended up with 5 eggs, 3 mature. All 3 fertilized but arrested growth on day 5 post-retrieval.

Medications were approximately $19,000 ($15k luckily covered by insurance). I think the medical procedures (monitoring appts, egg retrieval, fertilization/embryologist) were around $15,000 but pretty much all was covered by insurance so I'm not sure of the total.

Generally recommended single embryo transfer, though we never made it to that stage.

Caleb treated me as if I was money. Not a person. It upsets me because he don’t work around nor does he help with the situation. He basically makes you feel like your worthless. Thank god he won’t be my doctor anymore

Make sure he don’t treat you like money. Make sure when your paying cash for everything you accually get the time you payed for and the resolves of the work you have done

Ivf. He says clamping the tubes before transfer. That’s all he told me

He wants to me pay 30,000$ for 6 cycles and that’s with out medication. Very crazy . That’s not the price for all the lab work and stuff before .

I really have nothing. He treated me so horrible and I can’t wait to go to cny fertility

Dr. Martin is very funny, personable and kind. He works hard to try and lighten the mood and often makes jokes in the office. He is also gentle. Vaginal ultrasounds are not the most comfortable thing and he does a great job and easing that discomfort.

Ask your questions. He is more than willing to answer anything you throw at him and if he doesn't know the answer, hell get back to you. Don't be shy. Ask what you need to know and ask about risks.

I believe I was on an antagonist protocol. I did the Estrogen patch followed by menopur and follistim for egg stimulation. Ganirelix was introduced to wards the end to prevent ovulation prior to egg retrieval. I was taking 450 ml of follistim per day (350 AM/ 150 pm), two vials & then three vials of menopur (one saline solution with the powder menopur) in the evenings and one syringe of the ganirelix. Not sure of the dosage of menopur or ganirelix but those were the instructions. I had appts every other day or so and sometimes daily. Bloodwork was obtained at every visit. I also had a saline sonogram twice during the course of treatment.

Monitoring occurred between the hours of 7-9am daily. It was a well-oiled machine.

Our total cost for the Shared Risk Program with the genetic testing for all embryos was $28,000. The cost of visits were included. We probably spent an additional $300-$400 on meds for those three trials of IVF. We spent about $300-$400 on IUI with the cost of visit co-pays and medication over six tries.

My doctor recommended one embryo be transferred but was ok with transferring two at most. That's how we got pregnant with our twins. After losing them, he recommends only transferring one at a time.

Dr. Kulshretha treats every patient like her top priority. She tells you what she thinks is best, listens to your concerns, and works with you to make the treatment be as best as it can for you. She never rushes you, and is always aware of your treatment. She'll let you know if another physician will be monitoring you for a particular day.

Allow her to get close with you. Think of her as a good friend. It will help her be on your page for treatment.

Im sorry but I dont remember specifics. I took 3 shots a day, 1 in the am and 1 in the pm. Egg retrieval, day-5 fresh embryo transfer. Continued endometrin for a long time into the pregnancy...

Did a SET (she felt very strongly about it). The embryo split into two (identical twins) but I lost one.

To be honest, it was great to work with a physician who identifies as a woman. We feel comfortable at Shady Grove however, all the doctors are male while all the nurses are female. It was nice to have a woman who was kind, gentle and knowledgeable. She was truly wonderful and I wish we had the opportunity to work with her when we transitioned to IVF. Dr. K relocated to the Maryland office after our last round of IVF. We saw Dr. Martin after that who is also great (I did a review for him already). After we lost our twin daughters (Dr. Martin did that embryo transfer), both he AND Dr. K called me to express their condolences. That meant a lot and showed that even though I wasn't currently a patient of hers (because she had relocated), she was still keeping an eye on my treatment and invested in our success. I absolutely adore Dr. K.

It's ok to be vulnerable. Ask your questions and trust that she will spend the necessary time with you to make sure you feel as comfortable as possible when leaving the office.

We did the IUI portion of our treatment with Dr. K. Initially, I think we just did the monitoring with no additional stimulation. We eventually added the clomid at 50 mg and towards the end, increased it to 100 mg. I believe I also did birth control protocol prior to starting the clomid 100 mg on our last 2 tries. Monitoring was every other day or everyday as we got closer to insemination. Dr. K also did two saline sonograms to ensure my uterine cavity was normal. I had an HSG prior to starting w/ Dr. K and at the time, my tubes were open and the dye passed through without incident.

We exclusively did IUI with Dr. K. We paid for our co-pays and for the medication. I estimate we spent between $300-$400 total on those expenses.

Dr. K had conversations with us twice about the possibility of multiples. On our last two tries of IUI, I made 8 eggs and 7 eggs (with the clomid for both). She spoke to us about eSET from a safety perspective. We were honestly a bit uncomfortable with this idea and didn't know what we would do if I did get pregnant with more than two babies. I didn't want to risk the entire pregnancy by doing the reduction procedure. When I worked with Dr. K, it was not IVF so the embryo transfer was not the issue. It was whether all the eggs I made actually fertilized.

Dr Martin was phenomenal from the first time he met us and each and every time there after. He always made sure we knew what our next step in the process is/was and makes us feel comfortable like we have the same goal and not just a number.

He is extremely through so if you have questions don't be afraid to ask them.

My wife had to use Clomid and a trigger shot for 4 TI cycles and the same for 1 IUI cycle. Each cycle the drugs were working as prescribed and we had no set backs just never got pregnant.

Meds ranged between $25-100 and IUI procedure was $1800.

not applicable

Dr Martin was the first doctor to take all the time I needed to explain with compassion the treatment protocol, my last doctor experience was terrible, I'm so thankful for meeting the right doctor and group bc now I feel comfortable with fertility treatments.

Just listen to what he has to say ans how he explains it.

I am just starting the IVF protocol, so all the treatment strategies aren't determined yet. I was recommended IVF bc of my age and the fact that I had treatments in the past that failed.

24K and meds were seperate

Dr Martin highly recommends PSG testing and for that reason will only transfer one at a time. I am pleased with this.

Dr. Munabi was compassionate but he was also realistic that this only gave us a chance to have a baby,not a guarantee. It was hard to understand him at times with his accent but otherwise we really liked him.

Just to listen to him, ask him to repeat or explain what you're unsure of.

I don't remember

It was an efficient well oiled machine. I was in, out and done within 15 minutes. Very prompt.

36,000

It was absolutely wonderful to have Dr Kallen as my doctor. He is very sincere and my experience with him was that he took time to explain every detail of the IVF treatment and also give confidence throughout my journey

It is best to ask questions through the entire process if you think something is unclear or not explained.

Mostly covered by insurance.

Dr Kallen recommended single embryo transfer and also provided more details on why it is more favourable.

Dr. Kallen helped us get pregnant on the first cycle of fertility treatment with non-invasive treatment. I was thrilled to have such fast results. I think Dr. Kallen really cares about his patients, and clearly knows the research and medicine behind fertility care. Sometimes, I felt that I had trouble communicating with him during appointments.

Go into it with an open mind and remember that he is there to solely help you get pregnant.

We used Chlomid, hormones, trigger shot, with timid intercourse. We got pregnant on the first cycle of treatment.

Costs were reasonable. Our insurance helped pay for a significant portion of the treatment. We were left with reasonable costs. I would say total we spent less than $1000 including all of the testing, doctors appointments, ultrasounds.

Dr. Kallen explained our options for fertility treatment and respected our choice to try the least invasive option first.

Initially When I Read The Reviews Online For All Of The Fertility Doctors At Shady Grove Fertility I Remember Whispering "Please Don't Let Me Get Dr. Kallen, He Sounds So Mean And Cold". I Scheduled My Consultation And Sure Enough I Was Assigned To Dr. Kallen. I Was So Worried But I Went In With An Optimistic Approach And Believed That Maybe All Of Those Negative Reviewers Had Him Wrong. In My Experience, He Is Very Straightforward, A Little Cold Or Serious, But When He's Being Sweet Or Warm You Have To Know How To Read It. I Met With Him Maybe 2-3 Times In Person; For The Consultation, For The OAR, & Finally For The Ultrasound To Check How Many Sacs After A BFP, And Once Over The Phone To Discuss Test Results. He Did Not Perform My IUI Which I Was Shocked To Find Out When 2 Women Walked Into The Room But I Understand He Can't Be Everywhere At Once. He Explained Everything As It Appeared And Let Me Know Whenever There Was A Small Moment Of Concern. Although He Seems Like He Could Use A Big Hug Or A Few Laughs, Dr. Kallen Was Exactly What Was Best For My Journey In The End.

Please Be Open-Minded With Dr. Kallen's Personality. He Shows His Warmth And Passion In Other Forms. Don't Expect For Him To Make You Laugh Or Smile But To Assist In Making Your Dreams Of A Family A Reality.

My Treatment Strategy Was A Natural IUI Cycle Using Donor Sperm From A Sperm Bank. I Had Recently Went Into Preterm Labor With Twins And Was No Longer Involved With The Father. I Did Various Forms Of Bloodwork, Dr. Kallen Checked Out My Egg Count, I Ordered 2 Vials From California Cryobank, I Checked Ovulation Using One Digital Ovulation Kit And Strips To Compare, Once I Got My LH Surge I Was Scheduled For My IUI The Next Morning, Started Vaginal Progesterone The Following Morning For Whatever Reason I Was Not Given An Explanation, Got My BFP 2 Weeks Later, SGF Checked That My HCG Levels Were Rising, And Then Brought Me In To Count The Sacs.

The Costs Was All Out Of Pocket For Me. It Was A Lot Cheaper Than I Expected. My Insurance Was Not Accepted. Discounts Not Really Explained Came In Handy. I Filled Out Paperwork With A Financial Counselor Of Sorts And NEVER HEARD FROM HER. She Is A Terrible! Doesn't Answer Phone Calls, Emails, Or Voicemails. The Sperm Donor Vials Were The Most Expensive From California Cryobank.

I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Schumacher. She made an intimidating topic of infertility very relatable and made sure she took the time to get to know you, explain everything and helped guide you all the way through your process. She pleasantly surprised me how involved she was throughout the whole process. Not only was she on hands, after every procedure or core updates she sent me a personal email or phone call to update me on the status along with words of encouragement. She definitely made you feel that you could get through anything even though at times it may be difficult. If I could stay with her to a live birth I would have loved to. I STRONGLY recommend Dr. Schumacher!

If you are hesitant or nervous it is worth it. She will make you feel comfortable and explain everything in a way you will understand. She will find the best solution for YOU and your situation.

Due to my age (above 35) and previously having a misscarriage with no lives births in my history, she went over all my options with percentages of outcomes of a live birth. After going through all my options IVF seemed the best option for my husband and myself. We did the injectables for the egg retrieval, and then after the genetic testing and trial that I was in did the transfer of 1 embryo. Blood work and ultrasounds were completed frequently and meds adjusted as needed to get the best possible outcome. I can safely say that I am 10 weeks pregnant and excited to start this next chapter in my life.

Monitoring appointments were done in a specific window during the week. I was fortunate that I was able to make it work with my schedule and it not conflict too much with my work schedule.

Since I was in a trial I could only have single embryo transfer. Since this was my first IVF cycle, Dr Schumacher also wanted to make sure that we had 1 perfect embryo transferred rather than taking out chances with multiple for our first IVF transfer.

Dr. Kallen is an incredibly talented, kind, compassionate doctor. He is up-to-date on the latest studies and values his patient's input. He takes the time to educate, inform and listen to all of his patients. He works seamlessly with his nursing and clinical staff, which you can tell through their communication. While he has a very calm and serious demeanor, he is incredibly caring and compassionate. When we received less than great news, he was the one who called us personally to share that news. He listened to all of our concerns and worries and thoughtfully shared his thoughts, while never once pushing us in any direction. I fully trust Dr. Kallen and know that I am in good hands.

Look no further! We came to Dr. Kallen as a second opinion and knew we'd found the right doctor upon our first consultation with him. Bring any and all questions and concerns to him and he will guide you through everything.

Since we had had diagnostic testing done at our previous clinic only a few months prior to coming to Dr. Kallen, we did not have to repeat our genetic blood screening. (I was not a carrier for any conditions the test screened for). My husband repeated his semen analysis and completed an infectious disease blood panel. I also repeated a complete blood work up. Prior to beginning our IVF cycle, I had an HSG done, a saline sonogram, and mock embryo transfer. This was our first IVF cycle, and we followed the Antagonist IVF Protocol. This entailed being on an active birth control pill for 21 days which commenced on the first day of my menstrual cycle. A few days before injections were to start, I came in for a baseline ultrasound and bloodwork. Once they verified that my levels were where they needed to be, 3 days later I started my injectible hormones. I began on 225 IU of Gonal F and 150 IU of Menopur daily. I came in 3 days later for my first monitoring appointment and my dosage of Gonal F was increased to 300 IU per day. Monitoring appointments became more frequent and my dosage of both Gonal F and Menopur increased. Once my follicles were large enough, I began Cetrotide and came in for monitoring almost daily. Then we got the go-ahead and exactly 36 hours before egg retrieval, we used an HCG injection. Egg retrieval was successful and we waited to see how many made it to Day 5 blastocyst. Since we were doing PGS testing, our blastocysts were biopsied and sent to the lab and embryos were frozen. PGS test results took about 2 weeks to come back, and in the meantime I waited for my next menstrual cycle to begin active birth control pills again to begin my frozen embryo transfer cycle. After we received our normal embryo results, I also began Estrace oral pills, three times daily. Then I began progesterone in oil injections five days before our frozen embryo transfer. Once the embryo was transferred, I continued both Estrace and PIO until 10 weeks gestation.

There are global fees for procedures. Global fees for IVF is based on maternal age and they have 3 packages - one cycle, multi-cycle, Shared Risk money-back.

Dr. Kallen prefers eSET, as there are now studies that show that transferring multiples does not increase the chances of success, rather the chances of multiples which is risky. He explained the risk of multiples and the probability of an embryo splitting. Due to our age (25 and 26) and this being our first pregnancy, he highly advised going with an eSET. We were planning on doing an eSET anyway.

Dr. Kallen is a very smart man. He knew from the very beginning what my problem conceiving was. He put me on the perfect protocol and even though I wasn't very sure at first I trusted him and sure enough everything turned out exactly as he expected it to. I felt confident I was under the right care from the very beginning. He is an excellent doctor!

Trust him, he knows what he's doing.

He put me on the antagonist protocol. Started me off on a very low dose of gonal and menopur as he expected my ovaries to react well. They weren't initially responding the way he expected them to so he monitored me very closely and adjusted my doses as needed. I stimmed for about 13 days and ended up with 18 retrieved, 17 mature, 12 fertilized and 9 embryos. He was very confident that even though my ovaries didn't respond the way we initially thought the were going to we would still end up with good embryos (which we did!) I'm very happy I trusted him as we were very happy with the results.

insurance coverage

His stance on single embryo transfers vs multiple embryo transfers is very clear and understandable. One healthy baby is the goal! If single transfers aren't working then he isn't opposed to transferring more than one.

In our initial visit, she made the complex topic of infertility and IVF very clear. She gave me her time, details, and sketched out diagrams, more than the two other fertility centers I had been to previously. With Brianna, I felt I would get the time and care you would expect given the nature and price tag of the treatment. She described how easy it would be to get plenty of healthy embryos with a Shady Grove egg donor. They had excellent and thoroughly evaluated egg donors. Just pick one of their fantastic egg donors and a sperm donor and voila! She was so confident about how easy it was to make healthy embryos with Shady Grove’s expertise and one of their egg donors. I saw very little of Dr. Schumacher after that appointment. I received a long list of items to complete and a few folks that were supposed to walk me through the process. It took me 6 months. I never really understood who to contact for what and at what point the doctor came back into the picture. One of the times I did see her, she said to work with her team, and they would handle everything and make sure I got what I needed. Working with her team felt very impersonal and confusing, and as it turned out, I was never getting all of the information I needed. And being handed off from one person to another with no crossover, essential checks and balances got lost. Ultimately, I lost 30K because of the lack of accurate information and the lack of attention to the process as a whole. Here are the details – I went with a 1:1 egg donor cycle with a 25-year-old Shady Grove egg donor. I had insurance for 2 transfers, and I planned on using it. All in all, it cost ~30K. And Shady Grove received about another 30K from my insurance company. The result: Instead of 18+ eggs retrieved, there were only 9. Only 4 were mature eggs. Those eggs resulted in 2 embryos with chromosomal abnormalities. 1 with Downs syndrome and 1 with Klinefelter’s (XXY). I was told to expect 8-12 mature eggs from a 1:1 pairing. This donor was originally a 1:3 that I asked to be converted to a 1:1. From that, they would expect 4-6 healthy embryos, worst case. Ideally, I could expect 6 or more. Dr. Schumacher was overly excited about the embryo with an AA rating (prior to PGS testing) and wanted me to be excited. She did not tell me the rating of the other one, even though I asked. I was not ready to get excited because most people who can do a simple internet search know that the rating does not correlate to the chromosomal health of the embryo. She should have counseled me to be cautiously optimistic until the results came back. Even in the beginning, she was advising me that I didn't have to do PGT-A testing because there normally weren't any problems with a 25-year old's eggs. I felt that Dr. Schumacher's advice, process, and attitude were reckless. She neglected our discussion that I am 47 years old, maybe had a chance left, and did not have any more money to try again. Had she considered that she would have been involved with the selection of a donor and advised me appropriately. I was never told that a 1:1 pairing “could go wrong.” They sold it to me as a guarantee. Hence, why I chose to spend the 20K for a 1:1. Nor was I told by the financial department or Dr. Schumacher that there is a guarantee with a 1:3 pairing of 4 mature eggs or your money back. When I asked, "So you can pay 10K and end up with nothing?" Heather’s response was, "Yes." This is incorrect. If you don't receive 4 mature eggs, you get your money back. If anything, the financial department’s job is to make sure you completely understand all the financial aspects of the contract. Prior to payment to secure my donor, I had several back and forth emails with Finance about how their documentation was confusing. There is no guarantee with a 1:1 pairing. Shady Grove just said - sorry we were wrong about this donor. It happens sometimes. And they accept no responsibility for requiring you to select from the egg donor list that they have hand-picked and evaluated. Shady Grove told me these details only after things went wrong. It took 2 weeks for Dr. Schumacher to call me with the PGT-A results. For 2 additional weeks, I did what she told me to do – be excited that there were 2 healthy embryos. She sent me an email with multiple exclamation points about how I should go out and enjoy the sun. “I just checked on your embryos and it looks like we have one BEAUTIFUL embryo frozen for you today (AA - the highest grade!). We have 2 more that we are still going to watch for 2 more days. :) Let me know if you have any questions!!!! Otherwise, have a great day! Enjoy this sunshine and warm weather - it's sooo nice out!” Finally, we connected so she could confirm that Shady Grove had set fire to my 30K. There were no healthy embryos. The AA rating embryo was found to have Down’s Syndrome. They have offered that if I pay an additional $38K, we can start over, and Dr. Schumacher will be personally involved this time. To be fair, this does include transfers. However, it means I won’t be able to use my insurance. She will review the donors with me to ensure that we are successful. We will only select from donors that have been used before and have produced healthy results. When I asked Dr. Schumacher why she didn’t review this with me the first time (I am 47, and this was the only 30K I had for treatment. I only had one opportunity with an egg donor.) She said, “ummm to be honest I normally do have this conversation with people .. it’s one of the first conversations we have when it comes down to selecting a donor, um I usually review all the donors and I have patients send them to me so I can go through them specifically, uumm I don’t remember specifically um the conversation that we had and it sounds like we didn’t have that conversation and so I apologize if it wasn’t um you know I mean usually we do have this conversation usually I’m very involved in the donor selection process, I’m not sure what happened um in your case.” In order to come up with that money, it will have to come out of my 401K. Take-Aways • DO NOT use an egg donor that is new and untested. With Shady Grove or any fertility center. Or you could end up in my situation. Choose an egg donor that has already been tested and ask what the results were. Know as many details as possible about the health of the eggs and embryos and living children from that donor. Let someone else play the lottery with a new donor. • Confirm with Finance and your doctor, your understanding of the contract and do it in writing. Make sure they reply back and confirm. • You are just a number with any center that you go to. It's up to you to make sure your doctor and your center are following an appropriate standard of care. • The profit margins on fertility treatment are significant. Do not accept a low standard of care. • Shady Grove is not any different than RMA or Main Line (Tangent – The most wonderful nurses in Dr. Gocial’s office.)

She will make you feel comfortable and explain everything in a way you will understand. She is very engaging and wants to get you excited about how amazing their treatment is and how easy everything will be in their hands. Unfortunately, to the detriment of the truth and reality. Then she will disappear.

We didn’t get that far since the 1:1 egg donor match from Shady Grove was unable to produce any healthy eggs or embryos.

21K for a 1:1 egg donor retrieval, 5K PGTA testing. 5K for storage, surgery and sperm.

Dr. Schumacher will not transfer more than 1 embryo at a time to my knowledge. Regardless of patient request.

I highly recommend Isaac Sasson. He wants to get to the route cause of my infertility and has been very supportive and compassionate through the whole process. He tweaks protocols and walks me through each diagnosis in terms I can understand.

Book soon because it take a little time to see him. Everyone wants him to be their doctor

I started my first several rounds on clomid. Trying to get me to grow a few follicles and ovulate. Clomid effected my lining so we switched to Gonal F. I had the best results with this and it allowed my lining to grow as well. After almost a year, we decided to try IVF. Turns out I have poor egg quality so the protocol will be changing to a lupron, Gonal f, menopur cycle.

For times intercourse cycles the cost was around $1500 a cycle (including meds). For IVF, our shared risk with PGS testing was about $26,000 (not including meds)

Isaac is in the baby making business but also wants to keep mom and baby healthy. He will only transfer a single embryo unless there is a particular reason why the patient is requesting 2.

Dr. Sasson has been wonderfully compassionate, thorough and insightful so far. We absolutely trust his clinical judgment and reccomendations. We will be moving into IVF as soon as we are allowed by the state (treatments are currently paused due to COVID19).

I believe you are in good hands! Though we haven't had success just yet, I am very hopeful that we will through IVF.

I have PCOS and am completely anovulatory. Unfortunately, my condition cannot be managed by exercise and diet. We completed 3 cycles using letrazole which were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the fourth cycle I did not respond to either letrazole or clomid, so we moved onto Gonal F injections. Sadly, we were not successful on that cycle either. Since the cycles have become increasingly difficult for me emotionally, we decided that our best bet is to move forward with IVF.

We have spent an average of $1,800 per cycle since we have a high deductible plan. For IVF, we will spent am additional approximately $26K

We have not gotten to that stage just yet, however, Dr. Sasson did tell us that the chances of pregnancy are the same whether you implant one embryo or two. Therefore, I believe we will just transfer one.

She was very thorough in her explanation at the initial visit, and optimistic and supportive in our decision to go with IUI. Everyone who would call to discuss things was well informed of our chart/history/plan. She did our final US before graduating from the practice and explained everything well, answered any questions we had, encouraged us to send pictures of my growing belly and baby as the pregnancy progresses.

She had reviewed my chart from my previous doctor, and felt my body responded well to clomid so we did cycles of clomid and ovidrel with IUI. My initial month, I over produced and had 11 follicles so she canceled for too high a risk of multiples. The second month she lowered my dose to where i had 4, and we had a successful first IUI treatment.

Our IUI was 100% covered by our insurance

Dr. Sasson took on our case after a very bad experience at a previous clinic. He walked us through our lab results and the plan he has created. Throughout our care there have been some complications. Dr. Sasson was there on the phone calling checking in, and taking care of every detail. We feel so lucky to be in his care and know one day he will be the reason we have a child. He is truly a blessing and a very kindhearted intelligent individual who we have full confidence in!

Wait to get a consult with him!! You will walk out feeling at ease that you are in HIS excellent care!

Dr. Sasson knew right away that I was very sensitive to any injectable meds. that I was on. He was cautious and told me that my risks for hyperstim. during my egg retrieval process was likely. He educated me on the signs and when it did happen he gladly saw me on. a Saturday afternoon and checked on my the next day reassuring me that it will pass. Dr. Sasson understands and puts first the wellbeing of his patience- I am small and he will not risk the transfer of two embryos due to potential complications for the babies and me. Overall Dr. Sasson is a very thoughtful physician.

Our insurances did not cover any of the costs. We chose the shared risk program that costs 20,000 up front plus cost of all meds. This allowed us 6 retrievals and unlimited transfers. We did not qualify for financial aid and did not finance due to high interest rates through clinic program.

I liked Dr. Sasson because all our our treatment was customized to us. I didn’t feel like he just threw the same medications/ treatment at everyone. He worked with me when I ended up needed a second hysteroscopy for a septum. He was able to get it scheduled even though the clinic was overbooked with retrievals and transfers. We tried to be the one to preform all procedures as well and did both of our transfers. I liked that when we needed to make a decision about treatment he would give us the options, his opinion, and then let us make the final decision. Once the decision was made he fully supported whatever we wanted to do.

The first step was a hysteroscopy to correct a septum in my uterus. This surgery did not remove the full septum however. We were going to do IUI next but insurance wanted us to move right into IVF. We did IVF and frozen everything, then did another hysteroscopy for my septum. We did a frozen transfer of one embryo that failed followed immediately by a frozen transfer of two embryos that led to a successful singleton pregnancy. I was on Gonal F, Menopur, and cetrotide. I triggered with Lupron. For stims we started on low dose meds because I had a lot of follicles and did the lupron trigger for the same reason. This was successful in preventing OHSS. For frozen transfers I did del estrogen injections every 3 says and progesterone in oil injections daily until 10 weeks pregnant.

I was extremely lucky to have insurance coverage. I had to pay my deductible up front before treatment. Embryo freezing wasn’t covered and that was $1,800.

At first he preferred we transfer one. When that failed he gave us the choice to transfer one or two. We chose two.

Dr Isaac gave it to my straight. He didn’t water things down for me and I totally appreciate that because I’ve been to another doctor who gave me complete false hope and I feel I wasted lots of money with him and I could’ve used it else where. He told me things like the percentages and changes we had. He also explained how every treatment worked and what he thought would be best for me and my husband. Every time I spoke with him things got easier and understood more and more. He explained to me that these things can be very expensive and taxing on our mental health so we should take our time in making each decision and consider all out comes.

Don’t expect to anything but the truth and facts. But with consideration and understanding.

The IUI process. He told us step by step. Before, during, and after he reviewed what we did. From clomid to the injectable hormones, the scans and the intercourse times. He always gave us holistic things to do to increase the odds such as Foods, proper rest, and supplements to take.

The screening was around $2000 and every visit with the doctor was $90 and the iui was closer to $3000

Well he explained to use because of my endometriosis he only felt comfortable doing single egg transfer because that would but me at a higher risk for complications during pregnancy

Dr. Sasson was incredibly warm and caring during the whole process. He made everything seamless for a donor egg cycle after 5 long years of IVF troubles - even coordinating most of the monitoring for me in New York. I wouldn’t be holding my son now without him! I am forever grateful and highly recommend him - both for his expertise and gentle manner in dealing with his patients.

He is very impressive. I had been too various fertility specialists, but finally with Dr. Sasson I felt that he was prepared, listened to me, and had a game plan with very specific details as to what I could expect. He is the first doctor who actually really delved into and reviewed my entire very long medical record before I got to the appt with him - previously, I felt each doctor did not bother to (even after all my work of gathering it). The uncertainty of dealing with infertility is a lot of the frustration - he and his staff take that away. Don't be afraid because he is organized and knows what he is doing. I say that with confidence as I was relatively calm having a donor cycle done in PA while I was being seen in NY; he inspires confidence.

I had a donor egg cycle split with another couple. I used the long Lupron cycle. I had very poor egg quality in prior attempts using my own eggs so this was the best approach. The Lupron cycle was fine for me, and I also was watched carefully as I had previously ovulated prematurely before an egg retrieval. He synced up everyone's cycles to have a transfer when expected.

I was monitored in NY while my egg donor had her appointments in Chestbrook. I was always abreast of her status and I felt completely involved. My paperwork for appointments for myself in NY were handled well as well.

The costs were reasonable in comparison to NY IVF clinic prices. i utilized the shared donor egg program and my insurance, which covered a good portion of costs exclusive of the donor eggs themselves. The staff were very helpful in assessing options for me.

As I have said in previous chances, Dr. Martin MD as a clinician is far more than I could ever expect from my doctor. I wish more doctors were like him. Whenever he saw that I was getting down in the process he will try to make sure to get me to laugh or smile and remind me that keeping a positive mindset is a big part of the process. He seem to always be involved in my care even after I was realeased from the clinic after my pregnancy. From the very first consultation when I met him and he sat down and drew a diagram out of what my care plan would look like to make sure that I understood everything that was going to happen to me I had a great feeling about him. Even after my husband’s job has relocate from Pennsylvania to New York three hours away I went to consultations with other doctors and did not find anyone that I felt transferring my care too and now decide to drive three hours each way to see him because I believe that much in him.

Do not be afraid to ask questions. He will answer every question and to him none are stupid questions. Give him the chance to allow you to feel comfortable

For my first egg retrieval Dr. Martin placed me on an antagonist protocol. The reason we needed to seek IVF help was my husband suffers from male factor in fertility. Otherwise I have three healthy children from my previous marriage and no history of any issues conceiving. He explained to me that we would have to use IVF with ICSI because my current husband‘s sperm had to be surgically retrieved . During my first egg retrieval we used an hCG trigger however it caused me to overstimulate so now in my second egg retrieval cycle we are using lupron instead. After our miscarriage when we weren’t sure if we should proceed with IVF Dr. Martin explained that he felt we still had a chance because my body has proven that knows what to do in regard to my uterus, we just need a good embryo to implant. He said he felt as though the sperm was not a huge issue because we were able to get 3 embryos to blastocyst stage and highly recommended that this next cycle we utilize PGS testing to give ourselves the best cancelled of implanting a good embryo.

When I lived in Pennsylvania morning monitoring appointments when that hard for me. Once I move to New York however monitoring between 7 and 9 AM was a little more difficult to get to considering I was driving three hours each way to get the air. One time I arrived after 10 AM but I was able to drive to the Chesterbrook facility and still see my doctor as he was there that afternoon. They understood my trip and we’re more than willing to help accommodate.

I don’t recall as my insurance covered everything except genetic testing. PGS testing is $3400

For my first transfer we only transfer the one embryo. My second transfer was two embryos because we only had to laugh and Dr. Martin MD is open to discussing this with me. I told him that my insurance only allows us three chances and I would rather him play at two and still have one more chance laughed to go through another egg retrieval. He helped me weigh all the options and was open to my feelings and agreed to transfer two embryos in the second transfer. I love that we came to that decision together

Dr. Kallen does not have good communication skills and struggles giving individualized protocols and recommendations (especially for DOR). He does not stay up to date on infertility research and studies. As his background is in Academia, he likes to lecture about topics he feels comfortable with. If you ask questions (especially about IVF) he does not respond to them directly. It took him two weeks to answer very standard questions about the quality of the lab and even then his answers were very vague (I had been a patiend of his for 4 months at this point). During my time being treated by him, I felt I was just a number. At one point during a medicated cycle, he recommended I trigger 4 days earlier than I had in the previous cycle (the follicle sizes were the same as the previous cycle) which would mean I would only trigger with one mature follicle. I challenged his recommendation and triggered a few days later to give the other three follicles a chance to mature (that cycle resulted in pregnancy). When I asked why he had decided on the random date for the trigger, he did not have a good reason and told me it's ok to trigger later. It seems like he just didn't care when I triggered. After speaking with other women and seeing other doctors, I now know that my treatment by Dr. Kallenn was subpar.

I do not recommend this doctor

We did 3 medicated cycles with clomid and Gonal F with timed intercourse. We had wanted to do IVF right away but we had a bad experience w/ Dr. Kallen, so we moved fertility clinics.

My insurance covered most but I needed to meet my deductible. I've spent about 3k on testing, 3 medicated cycles monitorring and the medications

If PGS testing, Dr. Kallen recommends just one embryo transferred.