Drew Tortoriello

Dr T really took the time to learn my entire background going back to teenage eating disorders to my current high blood pressure to recommend the next steps. He was an amazing listener (my husband and I are both talkers!) and asked questions that we were able to fill in. The day of our consultation we immediately got the ball rolling with an ultrasound and blood tests.

Ask as many questions as you need - he will take the time to answer them.

We are still in testing consultation mode after returning from a two week vacation. Our next steps will be IUI if needed.

We have coverage through my husband's employer.

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Dr. Tortoriello was kind and communicative from the second I consulted with him. I had previously been to another clinic where I felt like a number and that the clinic had decided I needed to undergo IVF before even diagnosing me or conducting any tests. The experience with Dr. T was entirely opposite. He wanted to make sure to explain things to me and would not provide an opinion as to the best course of action until he conducted preliminary tests/did a workup. Dr. T communicated with my husband and me throughout all of the treatments we did.

Ask him any questions you have...he will answer them.

I first went through three IUIs for insurance coverage purposes. I used clomid in the first and third cycles. The third cycle led to a chemical pregnancy which slightly delayed moving forward with IVF. I had to do three egg retrievals. Given my age, we PGS tested all embryos that survived to day 5. For the third retrieval, Dr. T decided to add in HGH...it was this cycle that led to the ONE embryo that tested viable and which we then transferred.

Fortunately, my insurance covered a large portion of treatments. IUIs were covered; i had $50 co-pays every time I went for an appointment. IVF was 75% covered so I had a co-pay prior to treatment. Same for the transfer. I had to pay for medications.

I only had one viable embryo to transfer.

I don’t have enough words to describe the great Doctor he is. He is smart and is very knowledgeable in the latest research. He always changed my plan according to my needs. If something didn’t work, he looked for a solution. In my case he found it and we are blessed today at my age 44 with my own eggs. This is truly a blessing and miracle and It couldn’t happen without him. He didn’t turn me away where others did so it speaks to his compassion. He is dedicated and very diligent. I always felt 100 trust in him and his approach. He leveled with us when we asked the difficult questions and never gave us false hope... but somehow still managed to give us hope. I always felt relaxed with him because he is so easy going and very calm. That helps during such difficult times. I will forever be grateful to him.

Don’t ever give up and Trust Dr. T. And his approach. I feel he is not about the money.... but truly cares. I believe that he really is in this to help in this difficult journey of infertility.

We asked Dr. T what he thought would be best for us and our situation. He would always give us his expert suggestions but ultimately try to let us decide how many we wanted transferred as long as it was safe. Based on my age we would transfer no more than two.

I have a very tricky schedule living in NYC with two toddlers (one with special needs) and no family to help out so Dr. T was very flexible in my appointment scheduling which was such a relief because there was no way I could have attended other well known NYC clinics with my schedule. He always answered my questions via email or in person and I asked huge amount of questions. He was straight forward and honest but kind and compassionate at the same time. He was always right about my treatment.

Just ask questions and ask the office staff questions as well to put your mind at rest and email him your concerns. I never had to long wait or really any wait at all at his office...it was well run.

Started with clomid even though I pushed that because I was new to fertility treatments and nervous about injectables, IVF etc and wanted to try something as simple as possible. He was right when he said it probably wasn’t the best course of action to take in my situation and it caused more issues for me. Then we moved to injectables and timed intercourse which failed the first time but worked more in harmony with my body and again he was correct 100% on which drug protocol to use despite me asking about trying other drugs and him assuring me that his choice would be best for me. My 2nd round of injectables we tried IUI and I got pregnant.

I only had co-pay each visit and co insurance until I met my deductible.

He is very professional, he answers all your questions and also is always available via email. He is kind and compassionate but also direct. Sometimes when you get bad news, you would prefer not to be direct but he isn’t dismissive of your hopes and dreams. We had two miscarriages with both of our transfers so the embryos likely had chromosomal abnormalities and he indicated this early on when signs showed it via sonogram but also let me have hope.

Go with Dr. T and Sher, they are kind and know what they are doing. Ask questions when you need to and know that Dr. T is usually right when he says things don’t look right.

He put me on an estrogen patch for 5 days to increase my follicle count and it worked. He followed my follicles very carefully and didn’t have me trigger too early, he adjusted my medicines daily as needed and as a result he got 4 eggs and all of them made it to 5 day blastocyst.

14,000k for IVF cycle, $3800 for frozen embryo transfer

He let me make the decisions.

It is my great honor and pleasure to write this recommendation for Dr. Tortoriello. He is a miracle worker. After 2 successful IVF cycles at another boutique clinic (on East 69th St. in Manhattan) that resulted in 2 miscarriages at ~8 weeks (devastating), we switched to Dr. T. During my initial consult with Dr. T he recommended a different protocol, adding several new medications. On my 1st cycle with Dr. T, I became pregnant and successfully carried to term and delivered a beautiful baby boy into the world. 2 years later, we went back to Dr. T., the man worked his magic again, and voila, we now have baby boy #2. I intend to visit Dr. T again soon as my husband is eager for baby boy #3...ha!

Be proactive about your case. This is true for any fertility doctor you visit.

After 2 miscarriages at ~8 weeks while at another clinic, Dr. T added Lovenox and intralipids to my cycle medications. My previous clinic did not prescribe these. I was 27 during my 1st cycle, my husband was 45, and our issue becoming pregnant was likely male-factor though it also seemed that I had an issue maintaining pregnancy beyond 8 weeks.

I was covered by insurance up to $25,000.

After I had my first son Dr. T recommended eSET for subsequent transfers due to my age and success getting pregnant with previous transfers.

He is patient and understanding of what his patients are going through. He is also very candid but you have to ask a lot of questions and be an educated patient. I had to ask about other options available. At times, I felt as a number. On one occasion he misread my test results and didn’t realize until I questioned it. He is very responsive to emails and gets back to you promptly which is great but his emails were abbreviated.

Be an educated patient. Ask questions. Schedule follow-up appointments.

I have DOR so he did not want to use BC for priming since it would suppress my eggs. He had me on Estrogen patches before my cycle started, then Gonal F and Menapur. He added another injectable to prevent early ovulation around D11. He then had me go in every couple of days and adjusted my dosage according to the results. he added HGH during my 2nd cycle which got cancelled due to a lead follicle.

I do remote monitoring in another state, so Im not aware of Sher's practice when it comes to monitoring

I haven't received a bill yet.

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Dr T is a wonderful person, and I feel safe and well cared for with him. He knows his stuff and has zero ego. He is open to experimental treatment but committed to the standard fundamentals. I did have two failed transfers with him, however, with tested embryos. He recommended a very different protocol than I had had previously, and I wonder if it was too different, or too out there. His protocol included things like prednisone and intralipids, which I know are controversial. When I wanted to switch back to a more standard protocol he was very supportive, and so far this one has worked (I'm 11 weeks). I would feel very comfortable going to him for a future cycle.

You must do your own research and be proactive! He is quiet and introverted ... Make sure you ask all your questions!

For the first two FET rounds: Crinone Estrace Prednisone (slightly elevated NK levels) Lovenox (for slightly elevated anticardiolipin) Intralipids (slightly elevated NK levels) For third, I switched to PIO thinking maybe it was affecting implantation, skipped prednisone and intralipids and waited on the lovenox until a positive beta. This transfer worked, and so far so good.

$1540 per transfer with insurance Plus other costs

He was very open and asked my preference. Because I said single without hesitating, we didn't discuss it further

I met with a RE at another clinic before working with Dr. Tortoriello and the experience was like night and day. While the other physician had zero beside manner and barely let me speak, Dr. T really explained everything and answered all my questions. You can tell he cares deeply about patients, and I never felt like a number. I could email him and he would reply very quickly. If I pursue more IVF, it would definitely be under his care.

He doesn't make promises, but he will take so much of the anxiety out of the process. If you need someone who is reassuring, honest, and thoughtful, Dr. T your best bet.

I was on Gonal-F, Menopur, and Cetrotide. My follicles grew slowly so I had a long stimming cycle and adjustments were made throughout. Gonal-F started at 300 but increased to 350. Menopur started at 75 and increased to 150.

I was able to use my insurance to cover my care, although we paid for medications out-of-pocket. I had a couple of great conversations with the Financial Coordinator who practically gave me a line item budget of what everything would cost, what insurance covered, etc. It was so very helpful to go into the process with a clear picture of what we would need to pay upfront.

I felt at ease with Dr. Tortoriello during my first consultation with him. He is very soft spoken as well as very thorough in explaining the pros and cons, as well as answering all of my questions. It was very easy to make my decision to pick him to be my fertility doctor. Any other consultations I had at other clinics made me feel like a number and not a human. He always made me feel like a human. During my treatment with Dr. Tortoriello, he was always very personable and accessible. There was never a time that I did not get a call back or an email reply to my questions or concerns during treatment.

I would tell a prospective patient to pick him as your fertility doctor. He takes his time with you and explains everything to you. You will not be disappointed.

In 2016, I had an egg retrieval. The medication used was as follows: Lupron 10 units, Ganirelix 250 mcg, Gonal F 225 units, Menopur 75 units and Trigger Shot 10,000 IU. I had 13 eggs retrieved, 10 matured and fertilized and 7 embryos were frozen. I did not do any PGS testing during this first egg retrieval. In the same year, I did two frozen transfers. I transferred 2 embryos the first time and 1 embryo the second time and got negative results on both occasions. I then decided to unfreeze and biopsy (PGS testing) the 4 remaining embryos and they all came back abnormal (chromosomes). I then decided to discard those abnormal embryos and not transfer them. In 2017, I had another egg retrieval. The medication used was as follows: Lupron 10 units, Ganirelix 250 mcg, Gonal F 225 units, Menopur 75 units and Trigger Shot 10,000 IU. I had 12 eggs retrieved and 6 embryos were frozen. I sent all the embryos for biopsy and PGS testing. They all came back abnormal. After discussions with Dr. Tortoriello and going over my PGS results, I decided to go the donor egg route as my egg quality was not resulting in normal embryos to transfer. In my case, my egg donor was my sister. It resulted in us having 2 normal PGS tested embryos. I transferred one of those embryos and got a positive pregnancy and a live birth. He is currently 7 months old.

My care under Dr. Tortoriello was primarily covered under my husband's insurance plan. My insurance covered 2 egg retrievals (my own egg retrievals), 2 transfers and medication associated with both egg retrievals and both transfers using my own eggs/embryos. However, my egg donor process was paid out-of-pocket. My out-of-pocket cost for my egg donor process plus transferring the embryo was approximately $22K (including egg retrieval of egg donor, medication for her, anesthesia for her, my transfer and my medication).

He is my second IVF doctor and was a breath of fresh air. I genuinely felt he was my partner in this process...which was a big deal for me as my husband travels a lot and it's easy to get overwhelmed if you are doing a lot of this immense process alone. His warmth and intellect I found to be a perfect combination.

Consult with him early onward and then make your choice.

We did an estrogen priming protocol that incorporated omnitrope (growth hormone). We were planning to do a fresh transfer but I had fluid in my uterus so we had to freeze and then do a frozen transfer. I had fluid in my uterus with my previous doctors but they downplayed it and both prior transfers with them failed. So Dr. Tortoriello was the first to acknowledge this and correct for it.

No issues...was out of pocket.

Dr. Tortoriello told me that twins were a high risk pregnancy so we opted to transfer just one blast and it took!

Dr T was fantastic from my consultation wiith him to having 17 embryos frozen! Having infertility issues is devestating but finding a doctor like him and now being able to plan a family is amazing. I am grateful for meeting him. Every appt I had with him was comfortable and fast. I would sometimes go on my lunch break and didn’t have to take much time off of work. During my egg retrieval he was calm and patient and caring and checked up on me afterwards to make sure I didn’t have complications. I plan on using his services when I am ready to implant.

Email is his best way of communication and it was mine too because of work. That was perfect. Every email I sent was replied to within minutes by either the doctor or the nurse

I was on menapur, gonal f, and ganirelix. My hormones were high leading up to my egg retrieval so he changed my trigger shot from hcg to Lupron. Afterwards I took a prescription to lower hormones along with ganirelex

I had Cigna so they covered most after I met my deductible. The prescription medicine was an expense I didn’t budget. Cigna covered it but I had to pay a copay and that was 1k

He explains things calmly and in detail. I saw him at every visit except one weekend monitoring. I trust his judgement and results were close to what he had predicted. For my 2nd round I requested he change one aspect of treatment and he agreed to do so. He responds to emails very quickly which reassures me that my treatment is important.

Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions and explain your ideal outcome. Initially he didnt recommend PGS testing but when we explained we wanted to bank frozen embryos he agreed PGS testing would be beneficial. I'm glad we made that choice.

He recommended a mid amount of medication for my poor egg quality and dimished ovarian resserve. He didn't change anything during monitoring. I only got 1 PGS embryo but I guess egg quality was a little worse than expected. He recommended ICSI and DNA sperm fragmentation for my husband because of low morphology.

My insurance paid for most of it, except retrieval anesthesia ($625) plus cost of PGS testing. I paid copays for office visits and medications. Calls with dr were $75 (not covered by insurance). Injections meeting with nurse cost $100. We had to pay co-pays on all testing. DNA sperm fragmentation test was not covered by insurance.

We told him we were very against twins so he didn't recommend iui or clomid. So he knows we would never transfer more than one embryo.

Dr. T was my first fertility doctor. (i saw one before him like a consult but never followed through because it was like a meat factory. ) I can't imagine any improvement except for the fact that his monitoring starts later than I was expecting, so i had to make some plans at work to accomodate that. Totally worth it though because I got to see him each time.

Just listen to him, and don't be afraid to ask any questions because he is very happy to answer them all.

I did not do a lot of medicine as my egg count is low. The first time I used a pill with gonal-F 150. The second time I did no pills but increased gonal to 250 I think. Over 2 cycles i made 2 blasts. i transferred one frozen blast and that took!

I had scheduled appointments for each visit. As I left the office I would book the next one. Sometimes I would have a time that was later than I wanted, but they would always manage to work with my work schedule. Once Dr. T waited to see me at 5:30pm !

Just co-pays. Everything was covered. My requirement for inseminations was waived because of our combined issues....too many to count it seemed.

I had 2 blasts and he recommended one at a time. Good advice as it took !

Dr. T has a very deliberative manner and makes it very clear that he takes your care seriously. Although I saw the other two doctors in the clinic for some of the procedures because of scheduling, Dr. T did all of his own monitoring rather than having technicians do them. I wasn't sure if I would care one way or the other, since in the first clinic I went to, the monitoring was done by techs and I loved those ladies, in the end I think I felt more comfortable with Dr. T doing the monitoring simply because it meant that I saw him all the time and felt like I had many opportunities to ask any questions I may have had. He never sugarcoated what was going on, but neither was he pessimistic. I appreciated his balanced attitude.

I recommend Dr. T, and from limited interaction with the other two doctors, all of the doctors at this clinic without reservation. They ALL come across as very serious and caring.

Monitoring (each visit) $525 Egg retrieval $2400 ICSI $2400 PICSI $1000 Embryo culture $1500 Extended culture $1500 PGD biopsy $500 per embryo Cryo $1000 Storage $80 FET - ? haven't seen the bill yet

I don't recall what Dr. T had to say about multiple transfer - I was never going to do more than single embryo transfer and it was never an issue since I only had one normal embryo post-PGS

I found Dr. T after being dissatisfied with the care at another practice. I did a lot of research and chose to move to Sher so I could be treated by Dr. T. This was the best decision I made as he is truly one of a kind. I had ‘unexplained’ infertility and nothing seemed to be working, despite seemingly endless tests and attempts. After some time under his care Dr. T believed I had silent endometriosis and other immunological issues. He referred me to a specialist who was able to remove my endometriosis surgically and he worked with that practice to continue my treatment until he delivered the amazing news that I was finally pregnant!! Throughout my time there, Dr. T always remained positive and always approached us with new ideas on how to change course (we requested this). He dealt gracefully and calmly with my sometimes unpleasant and frustrated attitude. His responsiveness to emails was extremely valuable to me, as I often emailed him frantically about my case. 10 months after I had my daughter I found out I was pregnant again (naturally!) and my OBGYN was concerned that my hormone levels were very low, he was certain it was a bad pregnancy. I quickly emailed Dr. T, whom I hadn’t spoken to in over a year and asked his opinion. He was, as always, honest but hopeful. That pregnancy ended in a perfectly healthy baby. I will always be thankful to him for finally diagnosing my issue and providing a solution, and ultimately being responsible for the two beauties that are now in our lives! I cannot forget to also acknowledge the nurses and other doctors in the practice who were all so wonderful as well. This is truly a special practice.

I think all patients of all doctors should always advocate for themselves. Come to the appointment as informed as possible, think about what questions you want to ask beforehand.

After initially being treated at Cornell for 4 failed cycles, I switched to Dr. T after my original doctor suggested using a surrogate. Although I should have been a very easy case (blocked tubes and a history of prior successful pregnancies, I was diagnosed with implantation failure. Dr. Tortoriello did a full and thorough work up with different testing and was willing and able to think outside of the box. This was EXACTLY what I needed. We transferred my last 3 frozen embryos - the ones that had been picked over each prior transfer - and it finally worked. I only kick myself for not going to him sooner. Dr. T is kind, compassionate to a point but also realistic. During our consultations, he didn't sugar coat things and gives you the honest facts. This was actually a little hard for me as a patient since I prefer a hand holder and a little more optimism. But he wholeheartedly wants it to work for his patients without making promises. During procedures and monitoring, he was upbeat and reassuring. I will 1000% be going back to him again. When everyone had given up on me, he made it happen.

Do your research beforehand. He is very willing to try new things.

We did a natural, frozen embryo cycle. He had me on 2 weeks of antibiotics during the first part of my cycle since I had been questioning infection. In addition, 5mg of prednisone and Foltanx. After the transfer, I supplemented with PIO and estrogen.

I don't remember the exact breakdown since I still had insurance coverage at that time. However, I know it is an extremely expensive clinic.

He based my transfer on my individual history (many prior failed transfers) and the grading of my embryos which I greatly appreciated. I think this is his approach with all his patients.

Our dream came true thanks to Dr. Drew Tortoriello Everything began four years ago when we decided to start family. We tried to get pregnant for year with no luck met. That time I went to see my ob/gyn who sent us for some tests. We were confused, sad and depressed. She told us that IVF is our only option. So we went to clinic that was closest to our hometown. Doctors explained us what should we expect, but after failed IUI, IVF cycles and one miscarriage we were disappointed. We did not know what to do next, stay with clinic that follow protocol and won't make any changes or find someone else who can help us. At that time, I met a friend who was doctor’s T. patient and who got pregnant after first cycle of IVF in her 40s. So we called dr. T. office to make apt. and it was best decision of our live. Doctor Tortoriello is caring, knowledgeable and professional. He is always available to his patients, even when he is not in his office. We again ALWAYS received an answer within 5 minutes. He run tests, gave us hope and came up with a plan. After couple additional tests we were diagnosed with thyroid problems, endometriosis and my husband has low sperm count. We also had prolactin level problems and high alfa cells counts. We did not succeed with the first approach, but it gave doctor enough information to optimize and individualize approach. Right now, it is middle of the night when we are writing it, and we are not sleeping because we have a small miracle that is crying by our side since she is hungry. We are happiest since this is something that wouldn't be possible without doctor T. What we want to say is beyond 5 stars, excellent service etc. He helped us made life dream come true, so make appointment with him and you will see by yourself. THANK YOU DR. TORTORIELLO and SHER INSTITUTE FOR OUR BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL AIMEE :)

TRUST HIM

He gave us the opportunity to have the kids that we were having trouble getting. However the odds of Multiples the second time around were obviously WAY off base. We wanted a girl and transferred 2 embryos (the only girl we had and one boy) to increase the chance of one taking. We were given a less than 5% chance that they would both take and of course they both did. Now after PGD screening of the embryos and >$100,000 spent and 7 miserable years trying to build a family destroying my wifes body we have our first child and the twins with the boy twin being terribly sick with a very rare genetic mutation called CTNNB1 Haploinsufficiency that essentially means severe mental retardation and severe Cerebral palsy. SO we in essence gave up the best years of our lives to create a sick child that will drain us financially and emotionally for the rest of our lives- not to mention how it will mess up our children.

He is a great doctor. Though I think I will take statistics advice elsewhere. However I would make sure people are appraised of the risks involved and think twice

Standard cycle medications and treatment were used though the ONLY success we had was after doing FROZEN transfers BOTH times. The second time my wife was given hormones to shut her reproductive system down for 3 months prior to the frozen transfer to get her ready and it worked--- A little too well it turns out.

the 2 cycle plan I think was $17,000 and the 3 cycle plan I think was $21,000 the medication was very expensive but that was not at the clinic

I already covered this in the why I felt like a human rather than a number section, and this interface won't let me cut and paste so unfortunately if you want more coherence you're going to have to refer to my previous answer. Short version, Dr. Tortoriello: -- listened to me -- was never patronizing or dismissive of my questions -- never discouraged me from doing my own research -- was kind -- was a straight talker about my treatment details -- had a good sense of humor -- was deft and gentle in his touch with both ultrasound and during retrievals

I remember all of this, but I did too many cycles to be extremely specific here. To give a quick overview, though, after my first disastrous high stim cycle (nothing frozen), I then always did a low-medium stim cycle with Femara for a few days, then added anywhere from 75-300 FSH plus a small dose of HGH (Omnitrope .5mL or less) per day. We then added Ganerelix to suppress ovulation when that became necessary, until it was time for retrieval. The standard 10,000iu hCG trigger shot was used every time. Occasionally we did a luteal phase start. The rationale for this was that the super high stim protocol oversuppressed me and my AFC was never that high anyway (although we would never start a cycle with less than 4, which meant I took off a couple of months after every cycle so my follicle count could replenish itself a bit). With this protocol, I always had at least 1 blastocyst frozen per cycle. I didn't do genetic testing so I've no idea how many of those embryos are normal, butvam assuming at least a few of them probably are.

I've tried to block it out, but it was commensurate with other equivalent clinics in NYC and slightly cheaper than a couple of the others I considered at the time

As long as my doctor is willing to do eSET, I think that's up to the patient; I never wanted it so it never came up, but I'm pretty sure Dr. Tortoriello would do it if that was what I wanted--it's my body/money/willingness to risk or reduce a multiple pregnancy!

He combines facts/figures with also the emotional piece. Didn't shy away from any topic. Gave us realistic picture but also hope. I'm glad we were recommended to him by friends who also had success. More importantly, seems to be very ethical--never wanted to go over board with drugs, used by own cycle at least to try to see if it would work (did), never suggested we transfer too many, respected our decisions

Be prepared to listen even if it's emotional. He really listens but the patient needs to know how to listen also and express all of their concerns

Don't really remember. Seemed to include ganerelix and some other shot for ovulation and the usual trigger injection, progesterone etc at the beginning. Nothing all that unusual

Covered by insurance. Out of pocket probably around $2000 per cycle? Covered around 10-20K/cycle?

Dr. T put me at ease during every appointment. He has an extremely calm bedside manner and explained what we were trying to accomplish at the beginning of every appointment. When we had an unsuccessful frozen embryo transfer, I felt that he truly took the results personally and had a different path to my care for the following attempt. I trust his professional judgment.

I would advise anyone to come in equip with questions you have in mind. He is extremely knowledgeable but cannot read your mind and expectations.

I don't remember all of the exact treatment strategies used, however, I do think Dr. T was conservative in administering hormones (in a good way) so I wasn't overstimulated. I had heard horror stories from other clinics and felt fortunate to definitely avoid that experience.

We had care under the Progeny insurance network.

Dr. T was very firm to transfer a single embryo each time given my younger age.

He suggested that I monitor in NYC instead of locally because he felt like my monitoring clinic wasn’t good. They are. I got pregnant using their labs before with a different dr. who retired from Sher, two yrs earlier. I live 1,000 miles away, not happening. He was not very caring or compassionate.

If you are looking for an out of the box thinker, or someone who treats you like a person, not just a number, he is not the Dr. for you.

Menopur & Follistim. I started late on a cycle & asked if I should instead start the next month because I was already showing a lead follicle. He said no, start meds, big surprise, lead follicle the whole cycle. Wasted time & money when we should’ve just waited.

They were covered by my insurance