Benjamin Lannon

Dr. Lannon is warm, approachable, and has a sense of humor. He took the time to answer any and all questions we had and he has been very responsive personally to e-mails. We recently asked for a bottom-line honest opinion and feel he delivered on that. I trust Dr. Lannon. I was disappointed at how our pregnancy loss was handled as I felt like we were ushered out of the office quickly due to being upset and then there was no follow-up. We were also not given specific information about our baby's heart rate and we only found out how low the heart rate was after requesting our records some time later. I feel like we would have been better prepared for our follow-up ultrasound if we had been given this information. I received a call from my ob/gyn's office stating that they received our records and wanted to know what our follow-up was for the missed miscarriage and we had none. I did reach out to Boston IVF a while later to discuss my disappointment and they sent my message to Dr. Lannon and we received an e-mail from him personally the same day. He stated that the clinic chooses to give people space after their loss which I don't agree with but felt some relief that we weren't just dropped because we weren't a success. We went abroad for another cycle due to cost and we reached out to Dr. Lannon again a year later since last seeing him and were able to schedule a meeting with him pretty quickly.

Ask for what you need - don't wait for it to be offered. Dr. Lannon is a great doctor and partners with you. I wish that we had been more direct the first time about our questions, our needs, and potential risks.

With Dr. Lannon specifically we always felt like a human - he is very personable and responsive. We felt like a number at times with Boston IVF -everything is scheduled according to the day they do procedures, not according to how my body is responding.

We had no reason based on my blood work to think I would not respond well to stimulation and it was a shock to us and Dr. Lannon when they only retrieved 6 mature eggs. I started with birth control pill and then took Lupron followed by Gonal F 300 mg until the trigger shot (Ovidrel) and Lupron may have been added back in there towards the end. Dr. Lannon did tell us that if we were to do another cycle with him using my eggs, he would consider a lupron antagonist protocol. We ended up with all 6 eggs fertilizing and 2 blastocysts.

We warmed up to our nurse as we had more interactions with her. Our first meeting where we went over the protocol was overwhelming and felt rushed and confusing and the nurse was not overly warm. The nursing staff in general was great and I felt well cared for during procedures.

Overall the staff were great. I did not feel that I received all the information I wanted with regard to financial assistance options. It felt like a cookie cutter list was given to us with options that we were then responsible for looking into ourselves. There is minimal information given about possible grants and scholarships available or other options other than financing. We requested this information specifically when we were considering whether or not we would be able to afford another cycle and I included what we had already used for options in the past that would no longer be an option and I received a generic e-mail back with the same list given to us the first time. We qualified for a treatment discount based on our income and I was very disappointed to learn that if we used any form of grant or gift money that we would no longer qualify for the discount. There are few grants that provide substantial assistance and unless we received at least a $10k grant, we would end up having to pay more than our first cycle without the discount. The clinic felt like a factory at times and everything is scheduled according to when the clinic does particular procedures rather than specific to how I responded. There was a question about whether or not I would have had more mature eggs if given a couple more days of stimulation but the retrieval was scheduled for 1 day for all patients. My next cycle was at a clinic abroad and they saw me daily towards the end to closely monitor the growth and scheduled the retrieval for the day my body was ready. The clinic was very secretive about our results. For instance, I was doing fertility acupuncture and my acupuncturist wanted me to come with my estrogen level and how many follicles and what size but the clinic would not give me this information and they said they don't give this out.

Fresh IVF cycle using our own eggs and sperm with a discount based on income cost $8,000 and the medications cost about $3,000 with a pharmacy that offers a discount to Boston IVF patients. We recently went for another consult and it is recommended that we move to donor egg which is $18,000 for a single cycle or $42,000 for the assurance program which offers a full refund if you are are not able to have a live birth within 6 cycles.

Dr. Lannon is a stellar doctor who has always communicated well with me. He's honest but warm, personable, and analytical. His bedside manner is impeccable and he has a good sense of humor. We had mixed results with our embryos and I had some complications throughout my treatment, but I always felt a strong sense of empathy from him and felt like we were in this together.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. I'm pretty inquisitive and Dr. Lannon was always happy to share his knowledge. He explains things when asked, but he might not offer up information without a prompt.

Dr. Lannon has always been very personable with me. He's always made me feel very comfortable and like I mattered.

After rounds Clomid and a couple failed IUIs with another doctor, I saw Dr. Lannon for a full round of IVF. He first did a hysterosalpingogram (HSG) to ensure my tubes weren't blocked, then we started the IVF cycle. Stimulation: Gonal-F and Lupron. Retrieval: general anesthesia. Transfer: transferred two fresh 5-day embryos and froze three more. Subsequent frozen transfers have consisted of Estradiol pills and patches, and progesterone suppositories (Crinone before the drug price skyrocketed, Endometrin after). Before my final transfer, Dr. Lannon recommended/performed a hysteroscopy on me due to retained placental product which called for general anesthesia.

It took me a bit to warm to Amy. She covers information quickly and is very frank which can come off as uncaring, but she's great once you get to know her a bit better.

I only saw one doctor (not including anesthesiologists) at Boston IVF which I really liked. The nurses are quick to call you back. They have floating sonographers so I hardly saw the same person twice for ultrasounds. The receptionist is wonderful, but the backup receptionist is not warm at all. They just redesigned their website, and while it looks nicer, it's too "marketing" and not "caring" enough for me.

In 2014, IVF: $8,300 paid in full before process began (included pre-op; follicle monitoring; serum hormone assays during stimulation; egg retrieval; sperm prep; anesthesia; transfer; post-op). My initial meds were $4,000. Embryo freezing: $1,750. ICSI: $2,500. Other fees (we did not incur): $500 anesthesia at transfer; $1,000 assisted hatching. Patients can apply for financial aid and must submit two years of tax returns.

I requested the initial transfer of two embryos and Dr. Lannon obliged. Subsequent transfers have been singles.

I always felt like a number, when we met with him for our first consult I felt as though he was giving me the same info he had given every patient. Nothing felt individualized. He also pushed IVF very hard on us and did not let me know all my options. I did 2 IUI's at Boston IVF which were done by nurses. I never saw him after our initial consult.

I would say advocate for what you need and want because he is not very straight forward.

I did not have a very positive experience at Boston IVF. First off, any time I called to ask a question the receptionist would hurry me off the phone like I was bothering her and used a very unfriendly tone. If you are a self-pay patient like me (insurance will not cover any of my treatments) you must pay for the treatment or consults you are having in advance before they will even let you make the appointment. This has to be done through their website with a credit card. After your payment is accepted then they will take your call to make an appointment. This continued to make me feel like a number and the entire practice just felt like a business trying to make as much money as they could a and not a care team. Dr. Lannon I would rate as Ok, he really did not give me any new information that I already didn't know and was not upfront about all my options (pushed IVF hard before trying anything else). I would not recommend Boston IVF South Portland to anyone I know.

He used Clomid and we did 2 IUI's. We did not do anything else with him because we did not feel comfortable.

I met with one nurse that was very nice who did one of our IUI's but the others often made me feel like a number and just seemed like they wanted to get me out of there as soon as possible. They spoke very quickly, often did not make eye contact and did not spend any time listening to my questions.

The clinic is pretty simple, I thought it would actually be a little nicer for the amount of money patients are paying for the service. I did like that they had coffee in the Lobby though for the patients.

IUI's were $500, I did not do IVF but the price I was quoted was $8000 for the procedure and $4-5000 for the medication.

We did not do this.

From the day we walked through the door, Dr. Lannon treated us like we were important. He listened to our history and what we had been through and then gave us the facts, but delivered them in such a way that we felt like he was honest but not harsh. As a patient, I always felt like he was putting my needs first before financial gain. We never felt like he was after our money, he was generally concerned and cared if we had a child. When we went in for our egg retrieval, my hormone levels were incredibly high. He said we would see how many eggs we got before moving onto the transfer. After, due to difficulties retrieving eggs, we got 7 eggs. Dr. Lannon called us personally a few days later and said that it would have been unsafe to transfer with my hormones being so high. We also only had 4 embryos and he wanted to give us the best chance at a successful cycle. So Dr. Lannon suggested we stop the cycle and do a frozen cycle when my body had calmed down. We trusted him completely and did that. Dr. Lannon was amazing with the amount of care and compassion he conveyed to us.

Be honest and trust him and you will get the best care you will receive. Never give up, even when you feel like there is no hope.

We felt like the tone of the care that we got was exceptional. Dr. Lannon spent extra time with us when we needed it. He explained things further if we needed it. We never felt rushed and he always answered our questions, no matter how silly we thought they were. We always felt welcome and like he care. He told us what we needed to hear, not what we wanted to hear. He was always honest with us and made us feel like he was listening to what we had to say.

We had to use IVF with ICSI and were put on a medication protocol where I was injected every night for 2 weeks and had daily ultrasound and blood work. When it was time for the retrieval, my hormones were too high because I responded very well to the meds. So Dr. Lannon thought it was best to wait until my body had returned to normal before finishing the cycle. We also had only 4 embryos and he wanted to give us the best chance at a positive result. So we froze the embryos we had (ended up with 2) and waited until my body had returned to normal. The first frozen transfer we tried did not work, but the second one we tried did.

The nursing staff were always very professional and compassionate. They always took the best care of us and wanted us to feel calm and we could ask any questions we needed to.

The clinic was always inviting, from the receptionist at the front to ultrasound techs or people who drew blood. We never felt rushed or felt like we were bothering anyone. The clinic had no weaknesses. All of the staff are very good at what they do. For a new patient, be patient, try to keep your stress levels down even though it is a very stressful process, and have faith in yourself and the staff.

We were given a discount based on our income, as well as a discount on the medications. We felt like cost never obstructed our quality of care.

Dr. Lannon feels that he wants to give patients the best outcome, and if one embryo sabotages the other embryo you could lose both of them. In our case, it was better that we only do one embryo at a time, as well that it was safer to not have twins if we could avoid it.

Dr. Lannon is frank with a dry sense of humour. He was easy to talk to, well-prepared for our appointments, and thoroughly and patiently answered our questions. As a reproductive endocrinologist, he's very much focused on the goal of getting his patients pregnant. I came to him with a long-standing diagnosis of stage four endometriosis and I wanted to discuss treatment of that condition, which was preventing me from becoming pregnant. I felt he was less prepared/open for a conversation about endo, except as it affected our fertility issues.Ultimately, I ended up working with an OB/GYN to address endometriosis treatment, after which I returned to work with Dr. Lannon to continue fertility treatments.

Dr. Lannon is approachable and friendly, but dry. Don't mistake his sense of humour for a lack of caring or lack of bedside manner. His communication-style seems very adaptable to individual patients, so be sure to tell him what you need (Statistics? Data? A more emotional approach?) Don't be afraid to ask questions.

I appreciated Dr. Lannon's scientific, analytic approach to our conversations. I'm an attorney and my husband is an analyst. We both felt Dr. Lannon understood direct communication was important to us. He has a very dry sense of humour, which we also appreciated, but his approach never felt flip or anything less than understanding of the challenges we faced.

Diagnostic: Other than my endometriosis, fertility tests did not reveal any underlying causes for infertility. Dr. Lannon discussed the various treatments available to us and recommended a course of Clomid. However, we put treatment on hold because I needed surgery. When I returned after recovery (approximately 1 year later), the statistical data showed that proceeding directly to IVF was our best approach. Stimulation: I began with nightly injections of Menopur and Bravelle. Every three-four days, I visited the clinic for an ultrasound and blood work. The same day, I would receive a call from the clinic nurse with any adjustments to my injections. This continued until my follicles were large enough (15mm+) to retrieve. At the end of my treatments, I took an additional, single shot of Cetrotide. Trigger: Thirty-six hours before retrieval, I injected myself with a single trigger shot (Ovidrel). Retrieval: I was under general anesthesia for retrieval. Transfer: We had a five-day transfer of two embryos (based on my age, Dr. Lannon recommends two embryo transfer; he will not transfer more than two at a time), followed by a pregnancy test (blood test) two weeks later. Follow up: The final appointment with Dr. Lannon was an eight-week ultrasound after which our care was transferred to our OB/GYN.

Amy was friendly, but at times too quick in her explanations regarding treatment or next steps. I appreciated that she was quick to return phone calls.

As of March 2015: IVF $8,900 payment required in full before process began (included pre-op; follicle monitoring; serum hormone assays during stimulation; egg retrieval; sperm prep; anesthesia; transfer; post-op). Meds were not included in the above nor covered by our insurance and cost ~$6,000. Embryo freezing: $1,750. Other fees (we did not incur): $2,500 ICSI; $500 anesthesia at transfer; $1,000 assisted hatching. Cancellation reimbursement: $8,150 pre-stimulation; $6,400 before retrieval; $2,900 before transfer. Boston IVF provides financial aid to qualifying patients based on income (patients are required to submit two years of tax returns for review).

I really felt so lucky to have him since he is sort of the only guy around. He's really personable and easy to talk to, while being extremely measured, direct, and knowledgeable about his job. I also really appreciated his sense of humor, that was helpful when things got rough and I needed a laugh. He wasn't flippant about anything, though, and always knew how important this process was to me.

I also did a lot of alternative things to support my process--diet, accupuncture, massage, etc. If you have the means to do these things, I would. Dr. Lannon is AWESOME but doesn't cover this part of the process.

He's straight forward with data, but warm and funny at the same time. I really love him.

Don't remember!

They were on top of it, very knowledgable, and helpful.

They're fine! They are organized and easy to access care. I had a flexible work schedule, but overall, I think they were able to accommodate. They were compassionate, and showed a lot of compassion.

Efficient, well-oiled machine! I was usually in and out within 15 minutes.

Overall, about $18,000.

Dr. Lannon is a terrific doctor. He is honest and straight to the point, yet very comforting and helpful. He made sure we understood every procedure before anything was performed and was willing to work with us and allow us to try whatever we felt comfortable with.

Keep an open mind!

I was treated really well under Dr. Lannon's care. He treated me as an individual and determined what was best for me specifically.

After trying numerous IUI procedures with a failing result, we attempted the "mini IVF" (no injectables), just so we could potentially lower the cost before going all the way in. It was discovered that my ovaries were not reacting to the medication and the injectables were needed, so we attempted a full IVF and had success!

Strengths would be the open mindedness of the clinic and the fact that they were willing to let us try other options first before doing the full IVF (such as doing the "mini IVF" to help us save on cost). We were also granted with a discount for our IVF cycle, which was extremely helpful.

Because we qualified for a discount, we paid $5,900 for our full IVF cycle and $3,000 for the medications. I cannot remember how much the "mini IVF" was, but it was $400 per IUI cycle.

I think he was great checked my uterus before treatment began found fibroids and removed them

Read about ivf before you go in

Everything explained to me with a very caring staff

The uterine scan was very smart

Sweet and cheering for me the whole time

Needs more locations but other than that no complaints

None my insurance paid