Tree of Life Center

The doctor was very knowledgeable and kind, and took time to explain things to us. He made my partner feel comfortable and included, and he acted quickly to make adjustments when it seemed I wasn't responding to the medication as well as expected.

Be aware that all the appointments happen VERY early in the morning. That was a bit rough for us.

I started with 4 AFC. I was stimulated with Gonal-F and Menopur for 13 days. When my follicles were not responding as expected, the dose of Gonal-F was raised. I was triggered with double Cetrotide before the retrieval. The day before the retrieval, there were 7 follicles. I was sedated with fentanyl and propofol for the retrieval. 8 eggs were retrieved, and, of those, 5 were mature. 4 fertilized (some with the help of ICSI), and all 4 made it to blastocyst, biopsied and frozen, two on day 5 and two on day 6. Unfortunately, PGS testing showed them all to be abnormal, so I will be beginning a second cycle soon.

~$600 - initial consultation + testing ~$11,000 - egg retrieval and associated monitoring and testing (not meds) ~$4,000 - PGS testing for up to 6 embryos

We did not transfer yet.

She is warm but gets straight to the point. She wants to get you pregnant and get a baby home in a crib. She is passionate and caring and it’s a great combo. She is thoughtful and thorough in ordering bloodwork and tests to help determine your next steps

I really liked her a lot. We were referred to her by a couple who had a successful IVF with her and knew a few other couples who were successful with her. She was super patient. I wish, though, that she had encouraged us to save our embryos, just in case they could be used later. We are finding out now that one of them could have been implanted and possible autocorrected. But, there has been a lot of research since then, I just wish she would have had a bit more foresight as an expert in her field. Which may or may not be fair. Also, I wish that she had been less aggressive with the hormones, as I am learning now that when you are in your 40's, too many meds can fry your eggs as they are more delicate than when you are younger.

Do your research. Don't throw your embryos out right away if they are labeled "abnormal." See what other advancements will be made over the next couple years. She is a good doctor. Go with your gut.

She was pretty aggressive with the meds, the goal being to get as many eggs as possible. For me, it would have made a lot more sense to do a mini IVF or a mild IVF which uses less meds. Also, I am not sure that IUI after IUI was the way to go either. It never worked, yet somehow we did like 7 of them, which is very expensive. In retrospect, I probably would not have done so many of them.

It was expensive. Stimulated IUI: $5,000 Regular IUI: $2500 Use of surgery center for extraction: $10,000 Rest of IVF expenses: $10,000- $15,000

She told me she would not transfer more than 2 at a time. We never got to that point though. If we had, I would transfer one at a time, not more than that.

Dr. Jovanovic has a pleasant demeanor and is very knowledgeable in regards to patients with endometriosis. I sometimes had to ask him to repeat some phrases, since I didn't always understand his accent (keep in mind this is during the COVID-19 pandemic and we are also wearing masks, making communication a little more challenging). He was always very kind to me and my spouse. I think the time he spent with us initially made a really big difference to us, helping us decide what might be best for our circumstances. Everything with our IVF procedure went very well and I wasn't nervous for any part of it with Dr. Jovanovic. Once we were able to become pregnant, i really enjoyed the pictures he sent to us of our developing embryo/fetus.

I think as with any doctor, come with your questions and follow-up questions prepared. I asked him about fresh/frozen transfer pros and cons, if we were transferring day 5 blastocysts, PGS testing for our case, etc.

We did traditional IVF with a fresh transfer of 2, day-5 blastocysts. We chose not to do PGS testing since we both had genetic screening done with no abnormalities and at the time of the transfer was fairly young in my opinion (33). I think frozen transfers are preferred by this doctor and others due to the woman's hormone levels being able to return to normal, but we didn't feel the need to do a frozen transfer because we didn't need to do genetic testing and didn't feel like we needed to spend the extra money for a frozen transfer. We didn't increase the hormones one last time before ovulation maybe as much as usual since we were doing a fresh transfer. Ultimately Dr. Jovanovic listened to us and helped us make informed decisions, of course in a way that he would recommend and be able to do safely.

The IVF fresh transfer with ICSI but no PGS testing was just under $11,000. We got our medications for an additional $2,200. A frozen transfer would have added about $4,000 to the cost and PGS testing would have added $5,000.

We chose to transfer 2-embryos since they weren't genetically tested and it was a fresh transfer. I think the doctor would prefer to do a frozen cycle with a single PGS tested embryo transfer.

The first time I saw Dr. Jovanovic was with another clinic and he did a tubal ligation reversal for me which was successful. 4 years later, we are facing 2ndary infertility and despite now living 3 hours from his office, I only want to work with him. He is very kind and nurturing, wants to make sure that I am always comfortable with whatever protocol we are planning and just generally checks in to see how you're doing/feeling. I never feel pressured by him and he is who I see for EVERY appointment. Even just monitoring.

Don't be afraid to ask any and all of the questions you have. He genuinely wants to help you meet your goals

My first IVF cycle was actually an IUI cycle that we converted to IVF due to overstimulation. I had been on a VERY low dose of Gonal f but had an amazing response so we opted to convert to IVF instead of cancel the cycle. The bad news is, our cycle was not very successful in that our embryos did not make it to the blastocyst stage. Despite fertilization, the eggs failed to activate and cleave. The good news is, now we knew why we weren't getting pregnant. Currently undergoing our 2nd IVF cycle (had a chemical pregnancy between the last cycle and this one) and doing an antagonist protocol with Gonal f, Menopur, and Ganirelix. Trigger was Ovidrel and my 2nd retrieval was yesterday and produced 20 eggs. 16 were mature and 14 fertilized so we'll know more when we get the next update but we are optimistic that the changes we made both to the protocol as well as lifestyle/supplement changes will have a positive impact on our outcome.

Dr. Ben-Ozer is what I needed. A small, personal clinic that put up with my questions and was flexible with appointments to suit my busy schedule. She is not as warm and fuzzy as mr. rogers. But you KNOW she cares. I have three incredible kids thanks to Dr. Ben-Ozer. After my first IVF left us with only one half assed blast on day 5 she figured out a new protocol for me that allowed me to have the family I now have. I owe her so much.

This isn't the flashiest, biggest clinic. But that means they can really pay attention to YOU the person.

After trying for a year we went to Ben-Ozer at the suggestion of my friend. We did blood testing and I was relieved to see on the "dildo cam" that I had ovaries and follicles. Turns out our issue was male factor. When she got the results Dr. Ben-Ozer sat us down and explained she thought we should go straight to IVF. I was very overwhelmed and seeing that Dr. Ben-Ozer agreed to let us try IUIs first. But pretty quickly we knew we'd be moving on to IVF. Our first retrieval was disappointing. Though I had lots of follicles half were empty. B-O (Ben ozer from now on) also noticed that the liquid around the eggs was cloudy and looked like it belonged to an older woman. Needless to say that IVF resulted in a negative. I was heartbroken and worried that I would never be able to produce decent eggs. Was the issue MFI AND me? B-O never wavered. She told me she would get me pregnant. The next IVF cycle we used a different protocol. The biggest change was no more lupron. With this new protocol, my next retrieval was so much better. I transferred two embryos and we froze four. One of those two became by daughter. A year later we did an FET. Two of the frozens didn't survive. The other two were transferred. But alas a negative. Using the same protocol as our successful IVF we did another fresh cycle. This was our best one yet. And the two embryos we transferred both took and gave us our twin boys. Dr. Ben-Ozer clearly found the right protocol for my body.

I was out of pocket, but Dr. Ben-Ozer did whatever she could to cut the costs. She offered packages. She often gave me donated meds. And whenever she could she would charge off my monitoring as something else (i.e. watching a cyst which was covered by insurance)

Dr. Ben-Ozer is a top doctor. She is brilliant and compassionate. She does everything herself, so there is no confusion. She is extremely detailed and specific. I highly recommend her to be your RE.

She will tell you the truth. She will be very detailed and specific.

She was constantly adjusting our treatments based on the results we were getting. She wanted to see me all the time to check on how things were going. And, she was always the one to do the ultrasounds herself. She would then sit down with us and go over our next course of action.

Costs were what we expected

Dr.Jovonovic is very personable and cares about his patients. He explores all avenues to get the best outcome. We are at initial stages with him but already note the difference. He has recommended tests that other doctors have not told us about.

He is a doctor you can trust during this very emotional time.

I had a miscarriage after a FET prior to coming to Dr. Jovanovic. He recommended specialized blood tests to explore immunological or clotting disorders that could have let to the miscarriage. Other doctors have never explained these risks.

We are at beginning stages, but so far costs are comparable to other clinics we have been to. They do keep your budget in mind.

He is very nice and knowledgeable. He does explain things when you sit him down and ask. You do feel rushed at times. He would forget things that I had hoped he’d remember as his patient. I had to keep reminding him of my situation. He was honest & direct.

Just know who your patient is before they come in so they don’t feel like a number. Look up their file before they walk in to remind yourself. Talk to the couple and listen even if some questions sound silly, people go in without knowing all that you know, that’s why they are the patient. Make sure your staff is kind, patient (in person & over the phone) and remember what couples are going there to do, it’s a very emotional nerve racking and expensive time for them.

Natural IVF with a trigger shot, and pills to take. Shots every night for about 2 weeks or more to prepare for egg retrieval. 2 eggs taken, left for 5 days, 1 became an embryo then frozen. Implanted frozen embryo. He thought it would be best to implant after letting egg develop in lab for days before implanting. Due to my age, he said it was best to not do a lot of fertility drugs.

I was quoted one amount and then as I was close, days away to the frozen embryo transfer, I was surprised with additional thousands to pay in order to get the transfer that I had an appointment already scheduled for. I wish we would have been told from the beginning that we may need to pay them a lot more $. We needed the time to be able to come up with the additional thousands. The clear communication from the beginning would have saved us from additional unnecessary stress.

He would have transferred 2 but only one of the two became an embryo