Gerard Letterie
Seattle Reproductive Medicine
Available Lines of Communication
Medical SchoolU.S. Army
ResidencyU.S. Army
FellowshipN.I.H
Seattle
1505 Westlake Ave North
Seattle, WA 98109
206-301-5000
Kirkland
12333 NE 130th Lane
Kirkland, WA 98034
206-301-5000
5 assessments
10
Age
32 - 33
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
5 IUI, 1 IVF, 1 Egg Freezing, 1 Embryo Freezing
Diagnosis
Endometriosis
10
We wanted to be very conservative in our IVF approach-We would only fertilize two eggs at a time and any embryos resulting would be transferred (no frozen embryos). Dr Letterie never once questioned us or pushed us to be more liberal in our approach even though it would take longer. He was extremely respectful of our wishes...Even though he did not perform the retrieval or transfer, he was quick to check in with us over the phone each time. Our first embryo did not survive to transfer and he treated our baby as the loss we viewed it as. He was compassionate and loving as he explained what happened and that he was so sorry. My husband and I always felt so at ease in his care. I have never had a Dr like Dr Letterie and we have never been so impressed with medical treatment. He is one of a kind in the best way!
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Age
32 - 33
Treated
2017 - 2018
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
Other
Income
$200K - $499K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
2nd of 2 Docs
Treatment
5 IUI, 1 IVF, 1 Egg Freezing, 1 Embryo Freezing
Diagnosis
Endometriosis
10
How was your experience with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Dr Letterie is kind and gentle but also extremely intelligent. He listened to each of our concerns about IVF without ever feeling like we were rushed and he answered every single question with us until we were satisfied. We wrote and re-wrote every plan together as a team. Even though he did not perform the retrieval or transfer, he was quick to check in with us over the phone each time. Our first embryo did not survive to transfer and he treated our baby as the loss we viewed it as. He was compassionate and loving as he explained what happened and that he was so sorry. My husband and I always felt so at ease in his care. I have never had a Dr like Dr Letterie and we have never been so impressed with medical treatment. He is one of a kind in the best way!
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Prepare to be “wow-ed”! His level of intelligence regarding fertility is hugely impressive and his patience and bed side manner are incredible!
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
We wanted to be very conservative in our IVF approach-We would only fertilize two eggs at a time and any embryos resulting would be transferred (no frozen embryos). Dr Letterie never once questioned us or pushed us to be more liberal in our approach even though it would take longer. He was extremely respectful of our wishes.
Describe the protocols Gerard Letterie used in your cycles at Seattle Reproductive Medicine and their degree of success.
I used gonal-f injections along with menopur and certotide to prepare for egg retrieval. We retrieved 18 eggs. 2 of those eggs were fertilized and 6 did not survive/were not mature. 10 were frozen. We did not want to create as many embryos as we could because we believe each one is a life so we froze eggs and sperm separately. Out of those two embryos, neither survived and we took a break. When we started again, I began on estrace pills 3 times per day for the first few days of my cycle and then added progesterone in oil shots once per day and vaginal progesterone suppositories twice a day to prepare for a possible embryo transfer. We thawed two more eggs and they were fertilized with ICSI. Both fertilized and both survived to day 5. Both embryos were transferred resulting in a singleton pregnancy.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Seattle Reproductive Medicine. (Assigned nurse: Sarah Thompson)
Sarah was an absolute gem, just like Dr Letterie. Sarah moves to a different position right before we had our BETA test and she continued to be my follow up person because she was so hopeful for us and wanted to see us through our entire cycle
Describe your experience with Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
Everything ran like clock work. Every single person-from reception to nurse to dr-was wonderful to work with. They are clearly a team from beginning to end of a patients process. I don’t recall a negative experience.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
We were from out of town-About 4.5 hours from the office. So we did all of our monitoring through a local lab and they got everything to Dr Letterie.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
We did have some insurance coverage and Kenzie was phenomenal at maximizing those! She explained when we should pay out of pocket vs when to use insurance to get the best rates possible. She was easy to get ahold of and always quick to respond. She was a lifesaver with finances.
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4
Age
32 - 33
Treated
2016 - 2017
Success with this Doc
No
Treatment
Egg Freezing, Embryo Freezing
Diagnosis
Other
4
Initially Dr Letterie was very compassionate, thorough and articulate in communicating our treatment plan. We feel like this shifted when we got unexpected results at which point we felt that communication was not timely or consistent. There was a lack of urgency in developing a modified treatment plan and getting us referred to the appropriate physicians to manage our unexpected results. We also feel that the empathy and compassion in communication trailed off when unexpected results occurred.
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Age
32 - 33
Treated
2016 - 2017
Success with this Doc
No
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1st of 2 Docs
Treatment
Egg Freezing, Embryo Freezing
Diagnosis
Other
4
How was your experience with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Initially Dr Letterie was very compassionate, thorough and articulate in communicating our treatment plan. We feel like this shifted when we got unexpected results at which point we felt that communication was not timely or consistent. There was a lack of urgency in developing a modified treatment plan and getting us referred to the appropriate physicians to manage our unexpected results. We also feel that the empathy and compassion in communication trailed off when unexpected results occurred.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Be proactive in advocating for yourself and your medical needs.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
I would say I was treated slightly more like a number than a human. Our nurse was not good at communicating information or returning phone calls. Throughout our work up we found unexpected results requiring surgery and we feel this information was not communicated in a timely manner or in a compassionate/empathetic manner.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Seattle Reproductive Medicine. (Assigned nurse: Angi Nicholson)
We struggled greatly with our assigned nurse coordinator. Weaknesses included: not following through on communicating when she said she would (via email or phone call), not timely in coordinating care, when we received bad news she minimized and negated our feelings of being shocked and scared. We felt unheard and that our care was not a priority.
Describe your experience with Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
Strengths: several locations with weekend and evening hours, fairly easy and fast to get an appointment, online patient portal was easy to use. Financial counselors were very helpful.
Weaknesses: you have to pay for parking, this is a large clinic and in some ways it felt a bit impersonal
Describe Gerard Letterie's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
We were strongly encouraged to do a single embryo transfer
What specific things went wrong at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to call with results
- Lost results
- Provided conflicting information
- Failed to convey critical information
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10
Age
31 - 32
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
PCOS, Unexplained
10
Dr. Letterie is friendly and personable while also being extremely experienced and professional. He, and his team, made us feel like we were the only patients they were working with every time we went in for an appointment or called with a question. Dr. Letterie was kind and patient in how he explained our potential fertility issues and each stage of us trying to conceive. He remained positive but realistic which helped us get through the failed attempts until we reached IVF which was successful...
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Age
31 - 32
Treated
2015 - 2016
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$100K - $199K
Occupation
Teacher
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
3 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
PCOS, Unexplained
10
How was your experience with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Dr. Letterie is friendly and personable while also being extremely experienced and professional. He, and his team, made us feel like we were the only patients they were working with every time we went in for an appointment or called with a question. Dr. Letterie was kind and patient in how he explained our potential fertility issues and each stage of us trying to conceive. He remained positive but realistic which helped us get through the failed attempts until we reached IVF which was successful on our first try. A month after our baby was born, Dr. Letterie had his team reach out to us to say congratulations and to ask us how we were doing.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Go into your appointments ready to learn because he will make all of the procedures easy to understand even for someone with no medical knowledge.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Dr. Letterie spent as much time as needed with us and never made us feel like we were taking up too much of his day. My husband and I are both the type to need to know all of the details and Dr. Letterie answered all of our questions and drew diagrams to help us remember all of the new information once we went home. He was positive and upbeat while also being realistic and professional.
Describe the protocols Gerard Letterie used in your cycles at Seattle Reproductive Medicine and their degree of success.
We started by making sure I was ovulating and that my tubes were in working order. Once that was determined not to be our problem Dr. Letterie checked my husbands sperm count to check that off of our list. We progressed to tracking my ovulation and taking medication to speed up my ovulation due to my long cycles and overabundance of follicles. We then did IUI to try and get the timing correct for fertilization. When that wasn't successful, my husband and I took some time off to regroup and Dr. Letterie was very kind and understanding about that. Finally, we moved onto the IVF process which resulted in a live singleton on our first try and 15 healthy embryos frozen and waiting for us when we are ready for our second.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Seattle Reproductive Medicine. (Assigned nurse: Justina Vasquez)
Justina (Tina) was accessible and personable. She was available through secured email on their website at all times and when she was out she had a backup nurse who would respond in her place. She made our experience so much smoother because we didn't have to do much work at all. She coordinated appointments and reminded us of when to start certain parts of our treatment and who to contact for specific questions.
Describe your experience with Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
SRM has multiple locations in this area which is really nice. The Bellevue location was the most convenient for me, but the Kirkland and Seattle locations weren't too far away either. All of the staff that we worked with at all three locations were professional but friendly and approachable. There were times the waiting room would be full but it felt more like a community versus crowded or like the clinic was ill prepared. We felt well taken care of at each stage no matter which location we were at.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
It was expensive, but not quite as bad as I had anticipated. Dr. Letterie and his finance team were up front about what costs would look like and they went over the best options for us. There was a program to make monthly payments so the cost wasn't such a shock and there was separate option which was ideal for a family that would have a specific course of treatment. We felt well informed on our options and figuring out what worked best for us.
Describe Gerard Letterie's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
After our journey, I was hesitant to only transfer one embryo. What if just one didn't take and we had to have another month of disappointment and then another month of waiting and anxious anticipation? Dr. Letterie explained that carrying a baby wasn't an issue for me and if we implanted two embryos that we would have twins. He was absolutely correct with this plan because our single embryo implanted on our first try!
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10
Age
27
Treated
2014
Success with this Doc
Yes
Treatment
4 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Endometriosis, Poor Egg Quality, Unexplained
10
Dr. Letterie is 100% a great Doctor! My husband and I both trust him completely and felt so comfortable with him. He knows his stuff! Dr. Letterie is great at explaining things to you and lets you get all of your questions answered. He takes his time with you and you never feel like he is rushing you in and out. He explains all possible outcomes, etc.... He truly listens to you and lets you decide what you want to do. He gives you all of your possible treatments and is not pushy.
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Age
27
Treated
2014
Success with this Doc
Yes
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
—
Order & Number of Docs Seen
1 Doc Seen
Treatment
4 IUI, 2 IVF
Diagnosis
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Diminished Ovarian Reserve, Endometriosis, Poor Egg Quality, Unexplained
10
How was your experience with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Dr. Letterie is 100% a great Doctor! My husband and I both trust him completely and felt so comfortable with him. He knows his stuff!
Dr. Letterie is great at explaining things to you and lets you get all of your questions answered. He takes his time with you and you never feel like he is rushing you in and out. He explains all possible outcomes, etc.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
He is a caring Doctor. Ask lots of questions.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Dr. Letterie was very respectful. He truly listens to you and lets you decide what you want to do. He gives you all of your possible treatments and is not pushy.
Describe the protocols Gerard Letterie used in your cycles at Seattle Reproductive Medicine and their degree of success.
I honestly do not remember much. it was a couple of years ago.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Seattle Reproductive Medicine. (Assigned nurse: Sarah Thompson)
I loved loved loved Sarah. She was so amazing at communicating and truly cared about her patients.
Describe your experience with Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
I thought the clinic was excellent. I have no complaints. They were professional, organized, on time, good at explaining things, etc. They were always available to answer questions. The finance person seemed a little difficult to get a hold of at times. My nurse coordinator was wonderful!
Describe the costs associated with your care under Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
The ivf procedure was around $13,000
Describe Gerard Letterie's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
He did suggest only transferring one embryo. The second time around we opted for two and it did not end well. I went into preterm labor and had the babies at 24 weeks, in which they passed away shortly after.
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10
Age
37 - 41
Treated
2013 - 2017
Success with this Doc
?
Treatment
1 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Anovulation, PCOS, Other
10
He [Dr. Letterie] is very compassionate and gentle. He is older and experienced. I do wish he would investigate more of my physical issues. He did not test me for something that I found out I have. Knowing it sooner might have changed some results...He listens to my concerns and explains things to me.... I was told the wrong time of cycle to get a uterus scope done. I was told to do it at the end of a cycle and the viewing of it was poor...
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Age
37 - 41
Treated
2013 - 2017
Success with this Doc
?
Race
European
Income
$50K - $99K
Occupation
Entrepreneur
Order & Number of Docs Seen
5th of 5 Docs
Treatment
1 IUI, 1 IVF
Diagnosis
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Anovulation, PCOS, Other
10
How was your experience with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
He is very compassionate and gentle. He is older and experienced. I do wish he would investigate more of my physical issues. He did not test me for something that I found out I have. Knowing it sooner might have changed some results.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
Bring a pad of paper with questions you have and write the answers for looking back on.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Gerard Letterie at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
He listens to my concerns and explains things to me.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Seattle Reproductive Medicine. (Assigned nurse: Lindsay )
The patient portal gets locked easily not recognizing the password if you use the link they email you. So it's hard to get a hold of her sometimes. She seems like her patient load is too heavy and seems
Rushed
Describe Gerard Letterie's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Seattle Reproductive Medicine.
He felt a single embryo transfer is best for a safe pregnancy
What specific things went wrong at Seattle Reproductive Medicine?
- Failed to call with results
- Provided conflicting information
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