Deborah Ikhena-Abel

Kindbody - Austin

Rated 9
Strongly recommend: 60%Neutral: 40%9
60% strongly recommend
5 reviews
Humanity
10
10
Humanity

Ratings of 1 mean patients felt this doctor treated them as "a number."

Ratings of 10 mean patients felt this doctor treated them as "a human."

Communication
9.2
9.2
Communication

Ratings of 1 mean poor communication.

Ratings of 10 mean excellent communication.

Frequency Seen
7.2
7.2
Frequency Seen

Ratings of 1 mean patients only saw this doctor once or twice during treatment.

Ratings of 10 mean patients saw this doctor at every appointment.

Responsiveness
7
OK
Responsiveness

Scale is "poor, ok, good, excellent" and measures how responsive a care team was when patients needed to speak to them.

Education

Medical School
Dartmouth
Residency
U Mass
Fellowship
Northwestern

How Doctor Communicates

doctor, nurse available by email
nurse available by directline
nurse available by directline
not available by personal cell phone
not available by personal cell phone
Deborah Ikhena-Abel works at

Kindbody - Austin
Rated

Explore Clinic
Austin
100 Colorado St
Austin, TX 78701

2 patient reviews filtered by:

Verified

This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.

2019, Unsuccessful
NPS
8
NPS
2
Age 42
1 IVF
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
Poor Egg Quality
European
Income $200K - $499K
2nd of 3 Docs
2 IUI With Other Docs
1 IVF With Other Docs
Neutral
Doesn't Recommend
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.
8
Doctor
Deborah Ikhena-Abel
NPS
Humanity
5 of 5
Communication
5 of 5
Frequency Seen
3 of 5
Trustworthiness
5 of 5
Compassion
5 of 5
Explained risks
5 of 5
Adaptability
5 of 5
2
Clinic
Kaiser Permanente NorCal
Sunnyvale
NPS
Operations
3 of 5
Scheduling
1 of 5
Billing Department
3 of 5
Nursing Staff
2 of 5
Clinic Atmosphere
1 of 5
Educational Resources
6 of 5
Verified

This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.

2018, Unknown Success
NPS
8
NPS
7
Age 35
3 IUI
Anovulation
PCOS
European
Income $50K - $99K
Teacher
1st of 4 Docs
Donor Sperm
Neutral
Neutral
Success w/ Doc Too early to know
Overall, Dr. Ikhena-Abel is an excellent doctor. She responds quickly to my questions and is caring about my situation. There have been a few times where she references discussing something in my initial appointment that I don't remember talking about but it was a lot of information in a short amount of time. I was diagnosed with PCOS during my first ultrasound and I wish I could have talked to her more about the implications.
This is a Kaiser clinic, so like any Kaiser service you have to advocate for yourself. You don't see the reproductive endocrinologist more than once or twice and most care is with the nurse practitioners.... Overall, I've had great care with the nurses at Kaiser. One nurse was a little too heavy-handed with the ultrasound wand but lightened up when I asked her to do so. I was unhappy with one when she talked about next steps during my third IUI but I didn't want to think about another cycle or IVF at that point.
How was your experience with Deborah Ikhena-Abel at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
Overall, Dr. Ikhena-Abel is an excellent doctor. She responds quickly to my questions and is caring about my situation. There have been a few times where she references discussing something in my initial appointment that I don't remember talking about but it was a lot of information in a short amount of time. I was diagnosed with PCOS during my first ultrasound and I wish I could have talked to her more about the implications. It took a while, and a lot of research on my part, to understand what PCOS and anovulation meant for my fertility journey. I appreciate that she and the nurse practitioners changed my protocol each time to try to have a better outcome and that she's been honest with me through each step of the process.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Deborah Ikhena-Abel at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
Take copious notes at your first consultation!
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Deborah Ikhena-Abel at Kaiser Permanente NorCal?
Dr. Ikhena-Abel is great about getting back to me. She clearly cares about her patients and I feel like she really wants me to succeed.
Describe the protocols Deborah Ikhena-Abel used in your cycles at Kaiser Permanente NorCal and their degree of success.
1st cycle: Femara 5 mg. days 3-7, IUI 1, failed 2nd cycle: Femara 7.5 mg. days 3-7, 2 days of Menopur ml. at the end of the cycle to try for more than one egg (cancelled) 3rd cycle: Femara 7.5 mg. days 2-6, Menopur 75 ml. days 3-10; IUI #2 with 3 eggs, failed 4th cycle: Femara 5 mg. days 2-6; Menopur 75 ml. days 3-13; IUI #3 with 1 maybe two eggs 5th cycle: Femara 7.5 mg. days 2-6; Menopur 150 ml days 3-4; Menopur 75 ml days 5-9; Menopur 37.5 ml day 10; IUI #4 pending
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
Overall, I've had great care with the nurses at Kaiser. One nurse was a little too heavy-handed with the ultrasound wand but lightened up when I asked her to do so. I was unhappy with one when she talked about next steps during my third IUI but I didn't want to think about another cycle or IVF at that point. I understand everyone is different. They've been very understanding throughout my fertility challenges and given me hugs with bad news. They're all very caring and kind.
Describe your experience with Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
This is a Kaiser clinic, so like any Kaiser service you have to advocate for yourself. You don't see the reproductive endocrinologist more than once or twice and most care is with the nurse practitioners. I think I've seen four of the NPs, Carla, Debbie, Marion and Lori and I've liked them. I'm considering a cheaper option for IVF but I hope if I do go somewhere else that the staff are as good. They are quite aggressive (in my experience) with treatment, but I do have PCOS so it can be hard to stimulate my ovaries. Overall I've been very happy with them.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Deborah Ikhena-Abel at Kaiser Permanente NorCal.
I have IUI fertility coverage so my generic medication was $7 and my non-generic was $25. My ultrasounds and IUIs are $20 per appointment. I did not pay anything for my HSG or blood tests.
8
Doctor
Deborah Ikhena-Abel
NPS
Humanity
5 of 5
Communication
3 of 5
Frequency Seen
1 of 5
Trustworthiness
5 of 5
Compassion
5 of 5
Explained risks
3 of 5
Adaptability
5 of 5
7
Clinic
Kaiser Permanente NorCal
Sunnyvale
NPS
Operations
5 of 5
Scheduling
5 of 5
Billing Department
4 of 5
Nursing Staff
5 of 5
Clinic Atmosphere
4 of 5
Educational Resources
6 of 5