Ilan Tur-Kaspa

Dr. T found a tubal blockage and PCOS issue that my first clinic failed to identify. He has great bedside manner, when he had to give me bad news he didn't shy away from telling me but did so in a gentle and kind way. He helped me get a grant to cover some of the cost of IVF. He hugged me the day I graduated, he is that kind of doctor.

Ask all the questions you want, he will take the time to answer each of them. If you don't understand him, just ask again, I'm sure he is used to it with his accent.

This is a smaller clinic, where they take the time to get to know you. The Doctor, Nurse, Lab Tech, and front desk all know me. I wasn't just a number, I didn't feel like cattle. Dr. T is compassionate and really cares.

Because I was PCOS, he used Metformin. I was on Gonal F, Menopur, esterace, Lupron, and progesterone.

Melissa I talked to frequently with my cycle. She would always respond to me by the end of the same day, we often talked via email which is convenient. She always got paperwork back to me quickly. When I called after my stillborn, she remembered me and was so sorry to hear, like an old friend giving me comfort.

Pros- Easy monitoring hours before work and short wait times, super compassionate doctor with a great eye for detail, small office where you will see the same faces and get more personalized care, email correspondence, easy to page doctor and get quick response Cons- long waits for consultation/reconsultation, but it's because he takes the time with each patient and this was the only times I experienced this, all other labs/ultrasounds/ect were timely

Monitoring appointments were so great for me, I went before work and usually was there at 7, only a few people there, first come first seen, I was never there more than 15-30 minutes

IVF was around 10-11k, plus 1k for freezing, and medications. PGS testing would be additional 4k plus FET round of 3K.

He felt really strongly re a 1 embryo transfer, due to the risks associated with multiples. He did say if we wanted to try to transfer more than one he would let us.

Dr Tur-Kaspa is a nice doctor, he knows what he's doing for sure because he helped me to conceive my twin boys. He has always showed compassion in my case but is mostly straight to the point kind of doctor. He did advise against transferring 2 embryos but of course it was my decision & he respected that. He did try to talk me out of it at one point. In the beginning when I was new to infertility & IVF I would have preferred him to explain the process a little bit more. Going in not knowing if you are ever going to conceive you just kind of go with the flow & trust the doctor. If I had known what I know now I would have skipped IUI & went straight to IVF after 1 failed attempt. As a patient I am pretty satisfied & have decided to go back to him for further treatment because I am comfortable & trust him as my doctor.

Do your research & have your questions ready to ask. It is so overwhelming to go to a fertility doctor & there is a lot of information that will be given to you. I wish that I had done more research & asked more questions at first after being diagnosed.

At times I felt like a number when the nurses would call with results. Sometimes it seemed like they just read from a script. Also there is a ultrasound tech there that is not very friendly who I dread getting when I am there. Most of the times I feel good and like a human though.

I don't remember the protocols because they were done in 2013 but I do have a timeline for my next IVF cycle which includes labs & ultrasound at day 3 & then birth control & metformin for 2 to 3 weeks, hsn & if all goes well I will start IVF injections.

In 2013 there was a nurse coordinator that I dealt with was named Vernita. She was an ok nurse but sometimes would not get back to me in a timely manner. In 2018 when I went back she is no longer there & there are a few new nurses that I have dealt with. It is never just one nurse & I feel that it is not so personable right now. I am sure they all can read the notes & access the same records but I feel that sometimes without having one nurse with you the whole time it is not ideal. I have never even met any of the nurses in person despite asking to meet one at one of my visits.

The lab is always upbeat & friendly even though it is so early in the morning. I like how they operate. The front desk staff is ok, they could be friendlier in my opinion, although i have to say Vicki, who has been there since I have started going there is very friendly & personable. The ultrasound tech priya I wanna say her name is, I hope, is very friendly & knows what she is doing. Marissa could use some customer service skills & is never friendly when I go in. It seems like she hates her job. The office space is really nice & updated compared to the old office on the north side. I do dislike that there is no patient parking lot though. I also don't like that surgeries are done offsite downtown. It would be more easy & conveinient if everything could be done in the same office in my opinion.

I love the monitoring hours there. It is very convenient in my opinion because you can go anytime between 6 and 9 or 9:30am especially if you work you can get it done before work usually. It is pretty well run & in an organized matter. The visits usually are no longer then 10-15 minutes which I like. The lab department loves their job, they are always friendly & upbeat so early in the morning.

I have insurance so my costs were minimal in my opinion. I don't recall the specifics. I do want to add his office is pretty pricey to store your embryos compared to friends who have theirs stored at other facilities. I think that it should be a bit more affordable.

Yes he strongly advised me against transferring 2 embryos at a time. He still suggests that I only transfer 1 embryo due to my young age.

The doctor certainly seemed very informed and on the ball. But as I look back on my notes, I feel a little misled about his live birth rate success. He convinced me if we did PGS testing that I would have a 60-70% chance of getting pregnant because I'm under 35. His SART data, though, does not show that high of a percentage at all. At one point he told me I should be pregnant by now. He doesn't know why I'm not. It's either really bad luck or a uterine issue and we don't have enough data yet. But then month after month he'd basically pump me up with estrogen and put me through hell with no change and no success. He traveled frequently without giving me a heads up, and at one point I had to ask to be put on an extra week of estrogen just to coordinate with his travel plans so he could do my transfer (which was cancelled anyway). Your body is expected to work around his schedule, and I wish I had known how big of a deal that would be when I chose the clinic. He can be incredibly compassionate and funny. I really liked him personally, but at the end I wasn't pregnant and I felt like he wasn't taking responsibility. He is also very aware of issues within his nursing staff, and he doesn't take active steps to make it better. When I started with him in 2016 we discussed his poor Yelp reviews, mostly based on the staff. He said the problems had been taken care of. Let me tell you -- they weren't.

Go somewhere else! But if you stay, take detailed notes and always confirm in writing, via email, what he told you. If you don't understand something because of his accent, ask until you do. If you feel like you are starting to dictate your treatment because he isn't coming up with a plan of action -- run. Do not rely on the nurses to give you correct information abut protocol or meds. Be your own advocate. You can't trust them to get it right.

The doctor's behavior varied between incredibly passionate and completely detached. At times, I felt like we were on the same team, reaching for the same goal. But many other times I felt like he did not fully comprehend everything i was enduring as a patient. This was particularly difficult because he cancelled FETs for me time and time again because my lining failed to increase enough (and because he only does transfers on Thursdays, so forget about what your body wants). There was a disconnect between my experience and what he thought my experience was -- and this was despite me repeatedly telling him I was unhappy and felt unsupported. While he sometimes would call me personally, the last time I was cancelled the nurse called. It was devastating, and he didn't even bother to take the time to call me.

He triggered me with Lupron and we had 7 frozen, tested embryos. I thought I'd never have to do IVF again. I was wrong. One implanted, but was a pregnancy of unknown origin and they had to give me two doses of methotrexate to get "unpregnant." Each month my lining wouldn't get above a 8, so he would cancel my frozen transfer. I got to transfer one more, but it didn't stick. To get my lining to thicken, he pumped me full of ungodly amounts of estrogen (my serum levels were 2200+). I suggested patches, so we tried those. They didn't work either. I often got to a 7, but not when I needed to be for the purpose of his Thursday-only transfer schedule. I was told my embryos were perfect, but after the 2nd didn't stick I consulted with other clinics. I'm not sure how good IHR's outsourced lab is. And there are studies that triggering with Lupron makes eggs that are not high quality. He only used vaginal progesterone. Everyone else I know uses PIO injections, or both. So he finally relented and said I too could do PIO. But we never got that far.

I had four coordinators in the period of a single year. By the end, I couldn't even pick my nurse out of a crowd. I never saw her. I didn't feel like any of them cared about me, except for the first (Sue) who left the practice. There is crazy turnover at this clinic and the nurses that get left behind evidently have a huge workload. I am at a new clinic now and the experience is night and day better. These nurses at IHR make a frustrating and heartbreaking fertility journey that much worse. They always got my meds wrong. Sometimes they got my protocol wrong. I had to find the errors and then follow up. And forget about getting someone on the phone. If you don't answer when they call, you'll never get to talk to them again.

I chose this clinic because it was a nice size -- not as big as FCI and at the time the success rates were similar to Northwestern and FCI. But in retrospect, it's not worth it. I'd rather go to a huge clinic that was efficient. The only upside is that the morning waits were really quick and the U/S technicians and the women who drew blood -- were amazing. They were the only ones I felt who cared about me and knew my name.

They were the least offensive thing about this place.

Here is where we saw eye to eye. He refused to put in two quality embryos and fully explained all the risks of twins.

Dr. Tur-Kaspa performed a hysteroscopy, an egg retrieval, and a transfer. I never experience any discomfort or pain, not even after the hysteroscopy, which I thought was amazing. (I had another hysteroscopy earlier on, and that was performed by Dr. Cohen of IHR.) One egg retrieval plus PGS resulted in 9 embryos down from 16 (which is a really great number), and after just one transfer, I was pregnant. While the IUIs were very frustrating, I don't know if I can complain much now that I had such great IVF results.

Do you as much as your own independent research as possible and ask a lot of questions so that you understand the process and timeline, whether IUI or IVF. For example, with my partner and my busy work/travel schedule, I had to understand the timelines very well to be able to plan or postpone certain treatment.

Dr. Tur-Kaspa always had a great attitude and sense of humor and treated me warmly. I could tell he was personally determined. During the few times you'll get to consult with him, he is patient and lets you take to your time, but you need to be prepared with questions. I also really got along with most of the staff and nurses as well.

For the IUIs, I took one or two doses of clomid for five days, then ovidrel trigger after b/w and u/s monitoring, and a couple days after IUI, started progesterone support. Sometimes also included estrace/estradiol. For IVF, injections of menopur, follistim (adjusted as necessary based on ultrasounds), and then ganarellix, and finally, before the retrieval, leuprolide injection. In prep for the transfer, I was on estrace, progesterone, and medrol. Also, always lots of antibiotics. On estrace and progesterone until week 10. As far as I know, there was nothing particular about this protocol tailored to me as there weren't any special circumstances. This retrieval resulted in 34 eggs though I never had any symptoms at all; I felt perfectly normal the whole time, no discomfort whatsoever.

My first nurse, which I had most of the time i was there, was very difficult to talk to, it was difficult to get a hold of her to ask questions. I had to think of and ask a lot of questions. My second nurse that took over after the first nurse left IHR seemed much more professional and was easier to talk to.

The PGS testing (which was outsourced to a lab) was $4,500 for up to 8 embryos and $250 for each additional.

Because we did PGS testing, it wasn't a question for him whether we would take the risk of multiple because doctor said he had a 70% success rate with single embryo transfers after PGS testing.

Dr Tur Kaspa is extermely direct. His directness took getting used to - but he cares and is invested. I might not always like what he says but he spends as much time with me as I need, is compassionate and doesn't give up.

Don't let his directness turn you off. Underneath he is kind and compassionate and he will try his hardest to get you pregnant.

Dr Tur Kaspa knows my name, my situation, my story - he has empathized with my situation, hugged me, given me kleenex to cry. His partner, Dr Cohen performed my second egg retrieval, and I was so nervous when he popped in to introduce himself. His response, "I know all about you, your story, your history. Dr Tur Kaspa spent a long time speaking to me about your case, making sure I knew who you are. You are special. You are in good hands." I cried. I felt in good hands.

EPP on estradiol, 400-450 Gonal F, 150 menopur, 1/2 vial omnitrope (hgh), ganirelex, lupron trigger. EPP, MD Lupron 10iu/2x daily, omnitrope 1/2 vial daily (2 days), add in, menopur 150 am, gonal f 450 pm (continue with MD Lupron and omnitrope) tried lupron cycle when my follicles didn't respond one cycle

The nursing staff is fine. Some are friendly and helpful, while others seem exhausted and annoyed. That said, I have had medication delivered to IHR when I couldn't receive it myself - and they unpacked it and refrigerated it for me. They have loaned me meds when mine didn't arrive on time. And once, I went to my coordinator's condo complex to pick up a box of meds after hours. Now that's care that doesn't happen at larger clinics.

Monitoring is first come first seen. The clinic says it opens at 6:45, but patients begin arriving at 6am - be prepared to wait.

Monitoring takes place from 6:45-9:30am. Women begin showing up at 6am. The US tech is quick and efficient and begins taking patients early. From start to finish, I am usually there 1 hr.

My OOP cycle was $10,500 plus meds. Embryo biopsy and freeze cost approximately $3000. I was charged a batching fee of $500 per cycle, which I did not like - why does it matter how many cycles I am doing? I tried to argue this charge and lost. Genetic testing is $4750 which is the highest of any clinic I have been to - which was disappointing to learn. Most of my cycles have been covered by insurance thankfully. For insurance covered cycles, I paid deductibles for meds, I paid cost of meds not covered by insurance, the batching cost, embryo biopsies and freezing and genetic testing (one test for all batched embryos).

His bedside manner left a LOT to be desired. When setbacks did occur, he would often answer tough questions with "It's just biology!", and during each of my four retrievals he 'personally thanked' my husband for his service and sacrifice. Funny the first time, but after months of exhaustive fertility treatments, by retrieval #3 and #4, I wanted to scream "WE GET IT." A little pushy with the 'sales front', but I do feel like he was extremely attentive, and always willing to adjust protocol to get desired results. Overall I'm torn over the entire experience as a patient with him, we were happy with results, but felt like he could be insensitive.

Stay on top of the clinic, and try not to take his 'jokes' personally.

Dr. Tur Kaspa was very knowledgeable about my particular case and history, however the 'cattle call' of monitoring, and no attention to detail of the clinic had me feeling like just a number.

Hard to remember all of the protocols, but he adjusted as necessary.

Very compassionate, and relatively easy to get a hold of. Cons - terrible with result communication, and high nurse turnover. Results were left on the call-in voicemail, through e-mail, and phone calls, and I never really knew which method to check, or WHEN to expect them. Made for very stressful days waiting on results. Positive pregnancy results were usually phoned in, but one time was left on the voice-mail call-in, so after waiting an entire day past the 5pm close time of the office, I was justifiably angry to find out they had been on the call-in all along. Also, pregnancy results should ALWAYS be communicated via a phone call.

Strengths - smart doctors who are willing to go the extra mile to get results, compassionate nursing staff. Cons - not always reliable communication with staff

Completely unpredictable Waiting anywhere from 15 min - 1.5 hours. Ultrasound tech was very fast, kind, and took patients in early.

mostly covered by insurance. PGD previously paid for through insurance, but separate PGD clinic recently changed policies and no longer takes any insurance except Aetna.

He strongly preferred one transfer since we were using PGD, which we were happy with

I thought he was very demeaning and had terrible bedside manner. Always made it sound like as a woman I wasn't qualified to make decisions without my husband - even though I'm very knowledgable. I felt like he just did the same thing over and over again expecting different results and was never around when things went wrong.

I think he is used to "easy cases" and has a huge ego being that he is "well known" and people come all the way from Israel to see him (his words). He doesn't dig deep enough or think outside of the box. I don't need to be Molly-coddled; but, a little bit of compassion after a miscarriage would be nice. Ie: the first call shouldn't be about when you will schedule your next transfer.

I felt like the communication was absolutely terrible. You had to chase them to get any answers and when you called to follow up, they made you feel dumb for doing it. Dr. Tur-Kaspa was inaccessible and cold - especially for how small a practice it is.

He was pretty good at adjusting my meds consistently; but never explained the protocol clearly. We used bravelle and Menopur - I was very successful in terms of #'s retrieved; but, none of the blasts stuck for a successful pregnancy (and we never changed protocols for FETs)

They turned over a bit and weren't that readily available. Wouldn't answer emails and only called back when it was convenient for them - not you. Didn't communicate with the Doctor very well, so if things went wrong there was no way to get in touch

If you get there right when they open, it's not terrible; but if you get there after 7, good luck! You can't make appts.... First come first serve

Dr. Tur-Kaspa is a terrific and knowledgeable Dr. The first live birth took me 7 transfers (3 miscarriages followed by 3 non pregnancies but he stayed positive and tweeted my meds until we got our baby. Then with 1 embryo left 2 years later, he told us about a test that made sure they were transferring at my most receptive window. The ERA test told us that I needed 12 more hours of progesterone so we went for it with just the 1 embryo and I am now 14 weeks pregnant!

Ask him about the ERA test. And choose him as your dr. He is excellent.

The staff was super friendly, always treated me by name and made me feel like I was their number one patient. Dr. Tur-Kaspa made me feel special and that he knew me well. Also was kind, funny and personable to my husband as well.

Very friendly, helpful and great. Easy parking. Good location right off the expressway.

We could always go in at our convenience from 6:45 am-9:30 am Monday -Friday sometimes it was very quick and sometimes it took an hour at the most before completed but not too bad. I didn't have to take off work which was really nice. Never felt like a cattle call.

Insurance covered most. Frozen transfers were $3000 something (covered) ERA TEST $800 (not covered) Embryo freezing $1300? Hen $800 a year (not covered)

Dr TurKaspa is a great man. His bedside manner was extraordinary and he was always kind. He has a great sense of humor and I appreciated that at such a difficult, stressful time. We met with three doctors and went with him first. Both my husband and I left our first consult and felt like he was the best fit. What we didn't know, being first time infertility patients, was that you rarely see the doctor. While it's extremely important to like the doctor, it's equally if not more important to like the nursing staff

Make sure you are comfortable with the nursing staff

The Oak Brook coordinator was horrible!! We LOVED the doctor but rarely saw him, as in Any fertility center, however felt as though the coordinator was horrible. In such a delicate time you HAVE to treat patients with compassion and care, something she was unable to do

We did a clinic cycle first with double iui's, then an I medicated cycle with trigger, iui's, and progesterone

She was horrible. She had a minimal personality and always seemed to be angry. We miscarried both cycles and her choice of words and lack of compassion is why we left. I get that this is a job to her, but each cycle and life that we lost was our life...... I was so incredibly disappointed that we were treated with such a disregard to any of our emotions

The doctor is the strength and that's about it!!! The actual clinics, both of them, were old and dirty.

Insurance covered most of it but our deductible

Dr. Tur-Kaspa explained everything, and when delivering bad news or dismal statistics, he do so with compassion and kindness. He answered everything I asked, even when I asked the same question over and over again. He made his email available for any question I thought of and wanted to ask before an appointment. He was on vacation in Israel when I miscarried twins, and he called me personally to convey his condolences.

If you don't understand what he says, ask again. And again. Occasionally his accent gets in the way of complete understanding the first time around.

My nurse coordinator was fantastic. She knew me. She could ask me questions about my life, my husband, my family. The ultrasound tech at the satellite clinic was always friendly and chatty and super concerned. The doctor himself called me upon occasion. They all genuinely cared about me as a patient and a person.

She took the time to know me individually. She *always* had a word of encouragement, and it was my nurse coordinator who convinced me not to give up.

Dr. Tur-Kaspa reassured me that he would get us pregnant. He was always very upbeat on the days of transfer which made me feel more at ease of the process. I was able to speak to him candidly about my concerns and he listened and did what I wanted. He never told us no.

Be an advocate for yourself, he will listen to what you want.

Everyone in the office is nice. Dr. Tur-Kaspa is very nice and reassuring of getting you pregnant.

The nurses were always very helpful. They were available to help and answer any questions. They were also very gentle when drawing blood or when I needed an ultrasound. Always open to answer any questions.

The monitoring is done as a first come first serve basis. In order to be seen quickly you should be there as early as 6:20 to be 1st through 3rd in line so you can get to work on time.

My insurance covered all major procedures ( BCBS). I paid a co pay to talk to the dr. and when I had transfers and retrievals or any other surgery.

I was said I could not get pregnant with my own egg by another doctor and Dr Tur Kaspa agreed to work with me and the treatment was successful if getting a viable embryo from my own egg. He also found cyst on my ovary that the other doctor had missed. He didn’t over promise but delivered the result.

You are in good hands. Don’t hesitate to discuss your own expectation

He talked with personal touch .

Go early for blood works so you don’t have to wait long. They have different times you have to visit so you may have to change your work schedule. If you missed the call, they will leave you ra detailed message so you don’t have to worry about missed calls.

Growth hormone for reproductive use was not covered by insurance

I had only two viable embryos and I preferred to have both

I came to IHR after going to another clinic. IHR is a small clinic so the staff and doctor really get to know you as we person. Dr. Tu Kaspa was direct, humorous and very uplifting. I would definitely recommend using IHR if you are struggling with infertility.

I enjoyed going to this fertility clinic because it was small. Everyone from the front desk to the medical personnel knew my name, what cycle on was on and was always very friendly!

There was only one nurse at this clinic and she always remembered me and remembered things we had talked about at previous appointments.