Karine Chung

Dr. Chung is compassionate and knowledgeable, but most importantly you can tell she cares. She took her time to truly understand our unique situation which I really feel does make a difference, as well as to fully explain our prognosis, options, and risks. Unfortunately we ran into a road block that has stalled our journey, however Dr. Chung helped us find the right specialist to help shed some light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as we figure out a way through this hurdle, we will be sure to make our way back to Dr. Chung.

Ask all the questions you may have to understand the journey ahead of you, Dr. Chung is very knowledgeable and there is a lot of information.

I was to complete a typical egg retrieval cycle using hormone injections daily and for the first week, and have appointments every other day at the clinic. We were likely going to be using the ICSI procedure with my husband's frozen sample to create embryos.

I don't recall

I first met Dr. Chung at USC Fertility where I did one IVF cycle with her. Soon after, she moved her practice over to CFP and I followed her to do a second IVF cycle. For my first cycle, she put me on BCPs for two weeks and then a micro-dose lupron protocol, with Follistim and Menopur, and a Pregnyl trigger. 9 eggs were retrieved, 5 mature, and 4 were fertilized with ICSI. On day 3, my embryos were not doing too well so it was decided that they would freeze any that progressed to 6-8 cells. Two were frozen and I was told I would have a 10-15% of getting pregnant if I transferred the two. I decided to proceed with a second cycle. For IVF #2, Dr. Chung did estrogen priming (patches) with an antagonist protocol, added clomid and omnitrope and triggered with lupron and Novarel. 10 eggs were retrieved, 9 mature, and 6 were fertilized with ICSI. One day 5, I transferred an early blast and a morula. I did not get pregnant and none of my other embryos made it to blastocysts/freeze.

Ask questions! She will answer them all and make you feel so much more at ease.

See above. After my first failed cycle, Dr. Chung made major adjustments to my protocol such as estrogen priming instead of BCPs since they were too suppressing in the first cycle and took a much more aggressive approach by adding clomid and omnitrope.

At USC, it was $15k (including meds) but I did not transfer any embryos. At CFP, I spent $25K (including med) and that included a fresh transfer.

Dr. Chung is a compassionate person and knows her stuff. This is her passion and she treats each patient individually, I know this because another friend has gone to her too and our protocols were completely different. She is supportive and kind. I would definitely go back to her again.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions or send an email she responds or one of her nurses will right away.

I went in knowing we were doing IVF. She checked my tubes, did a saline sonogram, we started IVF injections and then retrieved. At retrieval I had liquid in my uterus, so we had to move to a frozen cycle. I was sad, but glad we did because I was better prepared for it. Now I’m currently pregnant. In preparation of my frozen transfer I started PIO and estrace, took them till I was 13 weeks.

I went in for monitoring first thing in the morning and it was so convenient. The clinic was open and ready by 7am. Dr. Chung wouldn’t always do my monitoring, but I was ok with that. She did always come in after to say hello and check in.

$17,000 with meds

At first she recommended transferring two, because she thought the quality of my eggs would be low, but since they were high she changed her mind to recommend only transferring one. She left the decision in our hands. We went with one and we are glad we did.

Dr Chung sat down with us and explained in great detail our options, risks, and benefits of treatment. She went over every possible detail and answered every question we had. We never felt rushed or dismissed. At the appointments where she promised to meet with us, she always kept her word. She predicted we would get 4 embryos and we ended up with 7, exceeding our expectations which made us very happy.

Go in with a list of questions, ask everything you want to know. She has all the answers and will take the time.

I completed a typical egg retrieval cycle using hormone injections daily and for the first week had appointments every other day at the clinic. After that, it was every day to monitor progress. Dr Chung used the best method for our situation, including ICSI to create embryos. She recommended we do not risk harm to the embryos by testing them with PGS and we agreed, because we have had no abnormal embryos in the past through our recurrent miscarriages (cause by a uterine septum).

The waiting room was pleasant with free coffee and plenty of seating. There is a sign in sheet that is used to call patients in order. Some days were busier than others but we never had to wait an intolerable length of time.

The consultation was $350 I believe, but went towards our treatment once we decided to move forward. The clinic offers a 40% discount for the fertility preservation treatment due to my cancer diagnosis. This was very helpful to us. We also had to do a FDA screening because we likely will have to use a surrogate in the future. The clinic also set us up with organizations that provided free medication to cancer patients which was so incredibly helpful, they took a lot of stress off our shoulders. Our total costs after discount was around $7,000.

Dr Chung recommends we transfer 2 embryos when we decide to move forward with IVF, to increase our chances of having one baby. I agree with this.

From our first meeting with Dr. Chung for a consultation, we knew she was a great fit for us. She is incredibly knowledgeable in her field and extremely thorough. That day she took the time to explain everything, but also approached the interaction with us in a way that made it feel like we were a team. Moving forward in our journey, she always provided a wealth of information and support. She was always supportive and hopeful through our three failed IUIs. Now that we are working through IVF, I could not imagine working with another doctor. She has been so supportive! Always available when I had questions during my egg retrieval process and when I had concerns afterward and leading up to our fresh transfer. It ended in a chemical pregnancy, but throughout the time where we were tracking our beta, she was realistic, but optimistic which was super helpful because it was such a sensitive time. We just saw her this week for our frozen transfer. It is always a pleasure to work with her and we always feel at ease.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. She is so kind, thoughtful, and thorough. She always put our minds at ease.

For my egg retrieval we used a long protocol. I was on birth control and Lupron then Gonal-F and Menopur. I responded very well and 25 eggs were retrieved, of which 5 reached blastocyst stage.

Monitoring hours were very convenient for both mine and my husbands schedule. They are early from 7:30-9:30 on weekdays and around the same time on weekends. There were options seven days a week which was incredibly helpful. If I had any conflicts, the clinic was willing to work with us. There was sometimes a long wait, but it varied and did not impact my work schedule.

Since I am an employee at USC, I did receive a slight discount on select portions of our IVF retrieval/fresh transfer, but not on our Frozen Embryo Transfer. The IVF retrieval, fresh transfer and medication was around $15,000 and the Frozen Embryo Transfer and medication was about $3600.

Our doctor used standard guidelines for our transfers given my age and diagnosis. She was very clear about the potential outcomes of transferring two embryos. We felt very comfortable with the information provided to move forward with her recommendations.

Dr. Chung treated me exceptionally well, she always explained everything in detail when I didn't understand the procedure or had any sort of question Dr. Chung and her staff was always a call or email away. I never felt as if i was just a "number" or "another" patient I truly felt like Dr. Chung really cares for each and one of her patients, we felt she was helping us reach our #1 goal to have a family..

I would advice a feature patient to walk in with an open mind. Dr. Chung will load you up with information like no one else she will make sure you understand everything as well as have answered all your questions. Follow all advice given by Dr. Chung and nurse.

As a male fertility factor one of our protocols was to try the semen analysis protocol to try and get pregnant naturally since husband suffers of retrograded ejaculations do to cancer and the first time we tried this protocol his sperm reversed,so we were told to try it again which consisted of being abstinence 3-5 days. 1. Begin Sudafed (with pseudo ephedrine) 2 tablets (30mg each) three times a day starting three days prior to semen analysis 2. Take 2 alkaseltzer tablets in the morning.

our estimated care cost is at about 8k.

our Dr. recommended that we get two embryos transfer. why? because or odds would be greater incase one doesn't attach maybe the other one will, and if they both do then we'll be blessed with twins.

Dr Chung listens well to our concerns and addresses them knowledgeably and carefully. She seems very proactive in helping us as an individual couple. She explains things in ways we can understand. She is candid yet talks about our situation in a way that maintains our dignity. I really appreciate that, especially for my husband because fertility treatment can feel so embarrassing.

Trust her to listen to what you want and feel. Then trust her judgment in how to best move forward.

She ordered tests for me first to rule out any physical reasons why I’d been unable to conceive. We tried a cycle of clomid with timed intercourse. We are now mid-cycle with IVF

The prices seem very competitive with other clinics.

Our doctor was great about listening to us and agreeing to transfer multiple embryos, especially at my age. I think she takes each case individually and adjusts to the patient.

From the moment I had my consultation with Dr. Chung, I knew she was the right doctor for us. I could tell she took the time to get to know my case and have a plan of action ready to present to us during the consultation. Every interaction with Dr. Chung was beyond my expectations. Her warmth, kindness and compassion really helped me cope with the negative experience of infertility. Her evidenced based approach and leaving no stone unturned is what got us the results we had prayed for. After 6 failed fertility treatments with a previous doctor, our first FET with Dr. Chung was successful.

Saline Sonogram, Hysteroscopy, ERA, FET

Dr. Chung is clearly very competent and was compassionate with us. She answered our myriad questions with patience. We attempted two IVF cycles with her and then after a break in treatment we have decided to return to her to try egg donation.

Be prepared with a list of questions and take notes because there is a lot of information.

We tried two IVF cycles with medications but never got viable eggs and had to abort the cycle each time. We currently are pursuing egg donor IVF.

Roughly $11k IVF, roughly $5K meds, though we weren't charged for everything because we did not complete the cycles. Sometimes there were additional fees such as ultrasounds.

We didn't have experience with this

She’s the best. I have seen many doctors during the few years, and she is easily the best doctor that has ever treated me. In addition, she is immersed in research and an educator which elevates her knowledge and approach to you as a patient.

Go to the office early!

I don’t remember, it was in 2013-2014

It was organized. I liked going as early as possible.

Don’t remember, seemed competitive for the LA/OC area. As a cancer survivor, Chung has a discounted program.

She does tailor number, 3 vs 5 to each individual.

We went to several doctors before we settled on her. She was thoughtful and treated us like more than a number. We felt like our losses and successes were hers. We had unique circumstances, which she handled with grace and competency.

Go to her and don’t look back!

I’m afraid i don’t remember much except that we had to go on lots more meds than the average person.

Super easy to get in. Hours were long so you could make it. Appointments moved fast.

$25,000 for my meds and the process including my husband’s ICSI.

She let us choose, with her expert opinion but without judgement.

She was compassionate and open. She made sure to communicate with us every step of the way. We are grateful for her efforts. She was aware of our needs. Hopefully she will feel of our appreciation and gratitude.

Just go along with the ride.

Sorry don’t remember

$25,000 for total package

N/A

She said I could do egg freezing but that it may take 3 rounds or so to gather enough eggs, which would just be too expensive. I was 39 at the time. I am now hoping to try and just get pregnant with donor sperm and want to go back to her.

Be open to the options she recommends.

We just did testing

Very expensive.. I think $500 for consultation and process would have been approx $13k each cycle