Mark Hornstein

Mark Hornstein met with us over zoom and was kind and had a good sense of humor, which hooked us. What we did not realize was that he would not care to even communicate with us during the IVF process itself. 5 months, we waited and waited doing paperwork and having to schedule and miss cycle after cycle due to Hornsteins unavailability. after we were finally ready and injections started, I knew my ovaries were being hyperstimulated and notified the nurse. Hornstein took no note and had no contact what so ever. suddenly, I get scheduled in for egg retrieval with a DIFFERENT doctor with no explanations, the same doctor did the embryo transfer. They retrieved 23 eggs, only 5 embryos were made and 1 was transferred. the transfer failed, I ended up in the ER after trying to communicate with hornstein and the clinic-- we even went there IN PERSON- in agonizing PAIN. and were told to leave because there was no one there. the day after I explained on patient gateway what happened, Mark still had not scheduled to see me or even call.

Please, for the love of God, avoid this pain, do not out yourself through this hell with this doctor. He does not care about his patients and will not have time for you.

Mark used the most standard antagonist protocol on me without making ANY adjustments, including my petite built etc., leading to hyperstimulation and underdeveloped eggs -- only 10 out of 23(!) were mature. I am doubting the practices of embryology as well because we had 4 embryos set to freeze and nobody explained why they were discarded. after 23 eggs, we are left with NO EMBRYOS AT ALL!

Cattle call line, I was yelled at, never explained what they are looking at even when I asked questions.

insurance covered

I wanted 2 embryos transferred but he insisted on 1. I agreed

This provider and BWH took six months to get the process moving from meeting to my first IVF cycle. Some of this timeline did have to do with outside genetic testing. I have a specific fertility issue that I should have sought help for elsewhere at a more cutting-edge facility. This provider/practice treated my issue and infertility treatment as what I felt was a "one-size-fits-all" treatment and that it did not apply to me. If you have more of a textbook infertility case, you might have a chance at this clinic. Even so, I was willing to move forward with another treatment plan or intervention. The follow-up from my failed cycle was dismissive and emotionally taxing. I was told I should seek donor eggs after my first-ever cycle with no possible solutions on how to move forward or rework the gonadotropin protocol in a future round. I was first told of the donor egg recommendation in a mailed letter to my house and as well as the patient portal. This provider or the team couldn't even pick up the phone first to tell me. They only called me after I received the letter. After a regroup appointment and requesting for the chance at another cycle the provider said they would submit for a prior authorization for another treatment, but this provider and their team did not and I waited two months for updates, which slowed me seeking care at another facility. I felt like they took on too many patients, that it should be smoother than this being a top-rated facility. I was also unimpressed by some of the education on taking injections. The only administering of medication training I received was from an online video, with no nurse assistance. I will say that Kerry is a top-quality nurse and truly cares, she was able to provide me any assistance I needed. She never made me feel like I was annoying her by asking questions. After my failed cycle my partner and I strongly felt that this provider was dodging questions and unable to answer our straightforward inquiries. This provider was also not present during the actual cycle. We also found the appointments at BWH to be quite cumbersome. I advise going to a clinic where everything is under one roof. Running from door to door trying to find the lab, the ultrasound clinic, the testing labs and more was very frustrating. If you want careful, thoughtful care where you feel valued, respected and treated with dignity I would go to another provider and I would stay clear of BWH. I felt like a number and after a failed cycle, totally disposed of and vulnerable. The follow-up from this provider/team was lackluster. This practice doesn't take into account the fact that we are women going through one of the greatest challenges potentially of our lives. If you have complex fertility issues, I would not go here.

Make sure you ask all of your questions & do your research. In this hospital clinic type setting, you really do need to be your own best advocate. Make sure going into the process with this provider, you know your fertility issues, you agree with the proposed medical protocol and all of your questions are answered. Ask this provider what the solution will be if your first cycle is cancelled or doesn't work. Is there going to be follow-through.

Dr. Hornstein very patiently answered our many questions when we met with him in person. He always treated us with kindness and care. His nurse answers most of the day to day questions by email or phone .

Make sure you know your treatment plan and know what the next steps are. The doctors and nurses at B&W are all good at their specific roles, but the communication between them can sometimes be missing. Because Dr. Hornstein may not be actually doing your procedure, make sure you have really discussed and agreed on important things like numbers of eggs to transfer before you get to the implantation day.

Three rounds of Antagonist protocol. The second and third rounds were far more aggressive than the first and produced many more eggs and embryos. The third round led to the most eggs and embryos and had some to freeze. I did a fresh transfer after each round of IVF. Had a successful pregnancy with a FET, which was the fourth transfer.

The ultrasounds monitoring appointment were started before 7am. It is first come, first served and operated pretty efficiently.

Some was covered by insurance. It's around $8K - $12K out of pocket per IVF cycle depending on your treatment plan. That does not include meds.

He helped us make an informed decision based on risk and insurance coverage.

I first saw Dr. Hornstein at the recommendation of a good friend who had seen him for years to manage her endometriosis. I had previously been seen by his partner, but I wanted a doctor who could do both the surgery for the endometriosis and oversee fertility treatments. Dr. Hornstein was very thorough with our initial work up and let us take our time before going to IVF. Dr. Hornstein presented all of the option and let us decide. We wanted to do PGS testing and even though Brigham doesn't recommend it, Dr. Hornstein was understanding.

Dr. Hornstein is incredibly busy and a lot of your care will be done by the nurses/fellows/other REs. If something urgent came up, Dr. Hornstein would call.

4 cycles of clomid - 3 IUIs (one was cancelled) Agonist protocol that was a freeze-all cycle for PGS and to prevent OHSS. Relatively low doses of stims (Follistim - 112.5) and Cetrocide. I used a dual Lupron and HCG trigger.

Monitoring hours during the week were from 6:45-7:45 and by appointment on the weekends. Even when it was crowded, they moved fairly quickly. The results of the bloodwork were available on Patient Gateway within a few hours and you would usually get a phone call that afternoon from the nurse.

In Massachusetts, most fertility treatments are covered by insurance with co-pays. We did pay out of pocket for a few elective things - freezing samples, ICSI and PGS but all told it was under $10k.

Dr. Hornstein is an excellent communicator. He seems aware of the power differential between patient and doctor, and actively mitigates it during consultation by listening actively within the time constraints of the visit. By the time I became his patient, it was clear that I likely had endometriosis that previous doctors failed to take seriously as a reason for both my infertility and severe pain. My goals closely aligned with his, which likely made him a good fit for my case (single embryo transfer, plenty of cool down time between failed transfers, aggressive pain management of my endometriosis during the process). I came to him in crisis and feeling hopeless. He validated all of my anger and frustration, and my sens that "something just wasn't right." He had me in the OR within 6 weeks to remove endometriosis and we were on to infertility treatment from there, quickly moving to IVF. His approach is wholly evidence-based, which I appreciated greatly. Dr. Hornstein never did any of my infertility procedures because you get who is on the schedule. But there was never a moment that he wasn't up to speed on my care. I had a lot of setbacks: return of endometriosis, two canceled transfers, two failed cycles, some complications post second retrieval. It was a long road from the start of my care to the MFM hand off once I finally got pregnant (2 years, 4 months), but there was never a moment where I doubted his clinical judgement. I have no regrets about choosing him, and would feel the same way had I not ultimately been successful (my husband agrees). I hesitate to write this because it may identify who I am as a patient, but it's very important. As a woman with a significant physical disability, Dr. Hornstein never once questioned my ability to be a mom. Other doctors had, in ways that were unfounded and not evidence-based. He cared about my disability when it was relevant, and didn't when it wasn't. It's hard to put into words how refreshing that is, as OB/GYN care is particularly challenging due to my disability. He always took the extra time needed for pelvic exams and procedures (HSG, SIS), and collaborated with my physician who cared for my disabling condition when necessary. I would not hesitate to recommend him to any woman with a mobility-limiting disability.

Come in with your questions ready, trust his judgement, be patient with the process.

I do not remember specifics, but I do remember his approach changed with each failed cycle or canceled transfer. We were constantly balancing increased endometriosis pain while during ovarian stimulation. So his approach to stimming was a bit conservative with me. However, we were very much in alignment, going for quality over quantity. I stimmed with GonalF for my first retrieval and got quite a few low quality embryos. He adjusted the approach for the second retrieval, adding in Menopur, resulting in better quality embryos, and my pregnancy.

Very busy at BWH Boston on the weekends. There will be children in the waiting room, so prepare yourself if that is a concern. I did weekday monitoring at Foxborough, and once at Chestnut Hill. Foxborough was, for the most part, a well-oiled machine. But, factor in time for traffic if you are taking 495. The courier service that picks up the blood for analysis at the main hospital is always on time and if you miss the window you are out of luck. No exceptions. As a patient driving in from central MA I often had to just judge by traffic whether I could beat the courier at Foxborough or if I just needed to drive into Boston.

We have a state mandate in Massachusetts that requires private insurance to cover a maximum of six fresh cycles of IVF. IUIs, drugs, and infertility testing are also covered. My daughter is a $200k kid. I paid, maybe $2,000 of that once you figure in copays for office visits, surgery and meds. If you don't live in Massachusetts, my advice is to get here now. No one should have to go broke to have a kid. You're supposed to go broke after you have the kid. ;-)

I opted for elective single embryo transfer because of my physical disability. We were in agreement about that. As the process dragged on and treatment wore me down, at one point I suggested trying two. He was gentle in his reminders of why I chose eSET and I agreed. I did not push back on this.

He was very thorough in his testing and in our health history for both my husband and I. We never felt rushed when we had appointments with him, however, he was very hard to get in touch with personally- we spoke mostly to his assigned nurse. I felt like he definitely explained everything to us in a way we could understand, but sometimes the process wasn't always clear to me. I will say, having had 2 prior miscarriages he allowed us to stay on as his patient past the 8 week mark until we felt comfortable being released to our regular OB/GYN, which I was very grateful for.

Write down everything he says, have your questions ready...and make sure you get his nurses direct line for follow up questions. He's very smart and it can sometimes be a little intimidating, but ask your questions until you feel like they were answered in a way you can understand. Also, just know you aren't always going to get him on the phone, so you need to be ok with talking to his assigned nurse.

You definitely had to get to the ultrasound clinic right when they opened, they were on a first come first serve basis and the waiting room was always full. They opened very early so it was convenient for traffic and to get to work on time.

I came to Dr. Hornstein after a bad experience with another local clinic. I had had a successful IVF, then miscarriage, then D&C that left me Asherman's syndrome while at the first clinic. Dr. Hornstein was the first RE to truly listen to me and to come up with a treatment plan that worked for me. When we hit set backs, he was innovative in his approach to overcoming them. I have the utmost respect for him and he truly is the reason I've got children today.

Make sure you ask all of the questions you have. Don't hold back. He is a great listener and he will fully answer your questions but you have to be open and share all that you are thinking of.

It's been a number of years. I did 4 IVF cycles with Dr. Hornstein. The final one resulted in a healthy twin pregnancy. My boys were born in 2004 so it's been a while.

My cycles were covered by insurance. I paid roughly $350 per cycle in meds.

This really didn't exist when I was undergoing my IVF cycles. We transferred a number of embryos in my final IVF that resulted in fraternal twin boys.

Thorough, good at explaining details, kind, realistic, gentle. Very knowledgeable, sensitive. Made me feel that every question I asked held importance and never seemed annoyed (I ask a lot of questions)

He is great, if you have any questions at all, ask. He is very patient.

Lots of testing. I had 5 failed IUIs with another Doctor. Has a very specific protocol. On Day 2 of your natural cycle start OTBC for 10 days. Then have ultrasound for baseline, Then start Menopur and Gonal-f for 5 days. Monitor egg development. Take trigger shot w/Lupron. After egg retrieval Start Crinone.

My insurance covered actual IVF. Had co pays every visit and every time blood was drawn, ultrasound.

BC of my age (36) and my BMI (High) only recommended single embryo. His mentality was age and BMI already made it a high-risk pregnancy for myself and baby. Possible multiples would just add to that risk for both

Mark was a wonderful, caring person who connected with us. He walked us through everything, made sure we understood everything, and changed his course when the first cycle didn't work. Again, he visited us after the girls were born while still in the hospital.

Trust him. Go for two! It sounds scary but twins are the best!

I don't remember everything. Lots of shots and I know that I didn't produce as many eggs as we wanted. We used ICSI the second time and that worked.

Most of my procedures were covered but some were subject to my deductible. All the ultra sounds and stress tests after were subject to my deductible.

I am a twin so there was no worry about having twins for me, so I was thrilled that the insurance covered two and we did that. I love being a twin mom!

Strenght- very knowledgable about my issues- he peformed my lap and follow uo care. Have not yey started ivf He took time to explain everything i did not feel rush. He is very open to work with my other fertility doctor since i live overseas His nurses were nice- was not always the same person each time i went.

Come ready to ask questions he will take time to explain everything