Dr. Sanfilippo has always been straight forward with me about everything. He is understanding and really listens to my concerns. He gives me options but also gives me direction at the same time when I don't know which way to turn...He is always willing to change protocols to increase positive outcomes and he listens to me when I want to do things a certain way. I have had multiple surgeries (getting ready to have a 10th soon) due to miscarriages, removal of scarring and removal of endometriosis and Dr. Sanfilippo has never left me in the dark about anything
The [UPMC Magee] nursing staff are very nice but at times do not communicate well regarding what is going on during treatment cycles...My insurance does not cover any IVF treatment so it was around $10,000-$12,000 each retrieval and that was with a little discount that I get due to being employed through the same healthcare system
How was your experience with Joseph Sanfilippo at UPMC Magee?
I was diagnosed with Asherman's Syndrome a few years ago and my uterus was about 80% scarred. Dr. Sanfilippo was able to clear my uterus of all scarring and does frequent checks to make sure it hasn't come back. When all of my gynecologists didn't listen to me when I said I had pain, Dr. Sanfilippo did and found that I had stage 3 endometrosis which he removed and I had to have one of my tubes clipped. I have been through 2 retrievals and I am getting ready for a third but Dr. Sanfilippo is always very realistic with us regarding our odds and has looked into research studies and consults other doctors to try to assist us the best that he can. He is always willing to change protocols to increase positive outcomes and he listens to me when I want to do things a certain way. I have had multiple surgeries (getting ready to have a 10th soon) due to miscarriages, removal of scarring and removal of endometriosis and Dr. Sanfilippo has never left me in the dark about anything. He always makes sure I understand everything that is going on. He is so compassionate and empathetic and I have never had a doctor listen to me as much as he does.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Joseph Sanfilippo at UPMC Magee?
Dr. Sanfilippo is extremely thorough and spends time with you to really make sure that you understand everything going because infertility can be really scary. For those with Asherman's syndrome, he has a lot of experience with it an has done wonders for me. I cannot say enough great things about him. There is a wait to get in with him though but once you have your initial visit, he is always willing to give you a call if you have questions or if you want to discuss treatment options.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Joseph Sanfilippo at UPMC Magee?
Dr. Sanfilippo has always been straight forward with me about everything. He is understanding and really listens to my concerns. He gives me options but also gives me direction at the same time when I don't know which way to turn. He understands when I don't want to go a certain way with treatment and has never pushed me to do something I didn't want to. He shows compassion, empathy and it is easy to see that he truly just wants to help people achieve their dreams of being parents.
Describe the protocols Joseph Sanfilippo used in your cycles at UPMC Magee and their degree of success.
Due to having Asherman's, Dr. Sanfilippo has had to do multiple surgeries on me to remove scarring. He does a hysteroscopy each time to remove the scarring and inserts a intrauterine balloon for a week to prevent the walls of the uterus from sticking and causing more scarring. He has also put me on estrogen for 28 days with progesterone for the last 10 days of that in order to start a new cycle. The estrogen helps to thicken the lining to prevent scarring as well. I get sonohysterograms every couple of months now to double check for scarring. For my endo, he did a laparoscopy and removed endo from my bowels, ovary and cavity walls. I also had to have my tube clipped due to it being blocked and fused to my ovary. It was a 3hr surgery to remove everything. I have done 2 retrievals with Dr. Sanfilippo and the second retrieval he was able to switch up meds which resulted in better response. Unfortunately we think the first transfer we had didn't take due to harmful fluid leaking from my tube into my uterus which has now been taking care of and and my second transfer was negative for unknown reasons. I have trouble getting my lining to thicken due to the Asherman's and Dr. Sanfilippo tried different protocols and was able to get my lining to 8mm for my 2nd transfer which is the thickest it has been yet. I am getting ready to do my 3rd retrieval soon.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at UPMC Magee.
The nursing staff are very nice but at times do not communicate well regarding what is going on during treatment cycles. There have been times that I have had questions and did not hear back for a few days and have had to follow up again to get an answer. The nurses do show compassion and empathy. They are very thorough with nurse talks that explain your treatment cycles and they are good about getting you in to be seen if there is an issue after a surgery or retrieval. The IVF coordinators are wonderful. They get back to me right away when I have questions.
Describe your experience with UPMC Magee.
Strengths: knowledgeable doctors, staff show empathy, IVF coordinators are very helpful if you are looking into IVF, wide range of treatment options, very thorough breakdown of what treatment will cost, they get you in as needed and required and they have hours as early at 6:30am so that you can go before work. There is a lab in the office so that you do not have to go elsewhere to have labs done.
Weaknesses: There are different doctors on retrieval days so you more than likely will not have your doctor to do your retrieval. Staff sometimes do not get back to you right away with results and your questions and but they do always get back to you. If you use MyUPMC app they do get back to you quickly though. Clinic does "batching" so they only start treatment cycles at certain times so that everyone can start treatment cycles together.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Joseph Sanfilippo at UPMC Magee.
Costs vary depending on what all you are getting done. My insurance does not cover any IVF treatment so it was around $10,000-$12,000 each retrieval and that was with a little discount that I get due to being employed through the same healthcare system. My insurance covered my surgeries. They do use a private anesthesia group for retrievals that do not take insurance. All retrievals are done in the office with that group. The billing department will try to bill insurance first before billing you. You pay a lump sum up front and they take what is not covered from that and then they reimburse you for anything that was covered by insurance such as ultrasounds and what not. The billing department does check with your insurance first to see what all should be covered or not covered.
Describe Joseph Sanfilippo's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at UPMC Magee.
Dr. Sanfilippo prefers to do FET with genetic testing if needed but is totally willing to do fresh transfers too. Due to us having 2 failed transfers, he was willing to do a fresh transfer with 2 embryos to increase our chances but we have decided to do another freeze all cycle and do PGS testing instead.
What specific things went wrong at UPMC Magee?
- Lost paperwork
- Failed to call with results
- Failed to order appropriate test
- Provided conflicting information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at UPMC Magee.
We had consent papers that were "lost" prior to one of our transfers. When our ERA results came back, I had to call multiple times to get the results due to them forgetting to call me. When my PGS results came back, no one ever called me with the results and it wasn't until a nurse started discussing transfer with us at an appt that we found out that we had a normal embryo and no one had called us to tell us in which they apologized for. They have forgot to put orders in for labs and the lab has to get the order when I was already there ready to get my labs done.