How was your experience with Michael Cho at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School)?
Strength: He seemed very confident of what he was doing. He was very re-assuring which made me feel good.
Weakness: As a patient I did not have clear idea of what IVF process or exactly protocols were being followed. My idea was a little vague and i just solely trusted him.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Michael Cho at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School)?
Ask a lot of questions proactively.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Michael Cho at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School)?
He did explain the process and results, but I had to ask a lot of questions to get a clear idea. I felt it would have helped to get little more time and attention from him. Sometimes as patients we don't even know what questions to ask. He did answer any question i asked though.
Describe the protocols Michael Cho used in your cycles at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School) and their degree of success.
I had 2 IVF cycles with him.
He adjusted the first cycle mid-way to give me the injections Gonal-f and Menopaur in my arms, instead of my belly. He felt i had scar tissues in my belly due to an endometrosis surgery I had, which prevented absorption of the medicines. After switching to arm/shoulder area, it actually improved my egg growth rate. However the eggs reached 3-day cycle, but were not viable on day 5. No transfers happened.
For my 2nd cycle he used Follistim and menopeur and increased dosage compared to last cycle. The eggs grew faster this time, and this time he was able to transfer 2 embryos. However, I got a negative test.
Describe your experience with your nurse at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School). (Assigned nurse: Melissa)
Some nurses were good but some were not. They poked me so many times for blood and gave me blue/black bruises so many times. At the end my left hand vein was lost. The care coordinators sometimes lost or forgot to mention critical details like I had only one ovary. My other ovary was removed during my endometrosis surgery. During monitoring by other doctors, they poked me so many times for so long before realizing something was wrong and I had to tell them that i have only one ovary, so checking for the 2nd ovary will not give results.
Describe your experience with University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School).
The receptionists were good and reminded me of my appointments.
The wait time was not too much, so that was good too.
However, no one provided very clear picture of the egg monitoring. I had to ask about how many eggs, how much estradiol etc.. and hardly got proper details. That part i felt can be improved. It just adds to the stress if you don't understand how well or bad your cycle is going.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Michael Cho at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School).
10,000 for IVF cycle which included egg retrieval and egg transfer; 800 additional for anasthesia during egg retrieval. 10,000 for medicines. Additional costs were incurred for doctor's visit and various diagnostic tests.
Describe Michael Cho's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School).
He did multiple transfer to increase my chances of success which i liked. However, the preg test was negative.
What specific things went wrong at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School)?
- Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at University Reproductive Associates (New Jersey Medical School).
The fact that the morning monitoring doctors did not have all the necessary information about the patient. My doctor knew what he was doing but he was not present every time. One of the other doctors poked me for a long time before she realised i had only one ovary. It was all present in my records, but no one read it.
Also, i had multiple blue/black bruises on my arms from blood drawn. Some of the nurses did not know how to draw blood and one time i had a bruising and swelling of enormous size that lasted for 10 days.