Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
2019, Unsuccessful
Dr. Abel was the best part of my experience at the Kaiser Fertility clinic. She is warm and caring...explains things well and she has a comforting nature...always answered my questions and always responded to my emails in a timely manner...She seemed like she genuinely did want the best for me and wanted to help me conceive...I really enjoyed having her as my doctor, but had frustrations with the clinic.
Kaiser has a very long waiting list and long delays while awaiting treatment. When you are scheduled for retrieval and transfer they book you with one of the doctors, which likely will not be your own. The bloodwork and monitoring are done in two separate locations adding to the commute time to the clinic...does not offer multi-cycle packages and requires full payment just to get on the calendar.
How was your experience with Deborah Ikhena-Abel at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
Dr. Abel was the best part of my experience at the Kaiser Fertility clinic. She is warm and caring. She explains things well and she has a comforting nature. She always answered my questions and always responded to my emails in a timely manner. I really enjoyed having her as my doctor, but had frustrations with the clinic.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Deborah Ikhena-Abel at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
Dr. Abel is caring the nurturing. My one caution would be that the Kaiser clinic has very high demand and the waiting lists are long. I was also not guaranteed to see Dr. Abel for all of my procedures.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Deborah Ikhena-Abel at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
Dr. Abel is very warm and caring. She seemed like she genuinely did want the best for me and wanted to help me conceive.
Describe the protocols Deborah Ikhena-Abel used in your cycles at Kaiser Permanente NorCal and their degree of success.
My first cycle was a bcp primed cycle with a high dose of Gonal-F, Menopur, and Omnitrope. The cycle was canceled on day 9 because I did not respond well to the treatment. My second cycle was estrogen primed and a lower dose of Gonal-F, Menopur, and Omnitrop. We retrieved 5 eggs and did ICSI, but only one egg fertilized and it did not form a blastocyst.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
I was not assigned a nurse coordinator. Every time I called I spoke with someone different. I found that often times the nurses did not fully review my chart before speaking with me.
Describe your experience with Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
Kaiser has a very long waiting list and long delays while awaiting treatment. When you are scheduled for retrieval and transfer they book you with one of the doctors, which likely will not be your own. The bloodwork and monitoring are done in two separate locations adding to the commute time to the clinic. The clinic does not offer multi-cycle packages and requires full payment just to get on the calendar.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Deborah Ikhena-Abel at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
The cost for one retrieval with ICSI and the biopsy for PGS and one transfer was $20855. This had to be paid in full before getting on the calendar for treatment
Describe Deborah Ikhena-Abel's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
We didn't get to this stage, but the clinic told me they'd do a single embryo transfer.
What specific things went wrong at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
- Lost results
- Provided conflicting information
- Scheduled the wrong procedure
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
I was told that I have a very high chance of another miscarriage and IVF with PGS testing is the only recommendation for me. My first IVF cycle was canceled on day 9 and when the doctor (not my doctor) recommended canceling she advised me that they were moving me to an IUI. When I questioned this I reminded them of my high miscarriage risk the doctor responded with "I didn't know", but it was in my chart and had they read it fully they would have known. After my retrieval I started planning the next cycle with my doctor. She told me the nurse would call to schedule the next cycle, but when the nurse called she told me she was calling to set up my protocol for my transfer. I was very upset and told her that I didn't have anything to transfer because my embryo did not form a blastocyst. Again, had they read my chart they would have known this.