Michael DiMattina

We first decided to see Dr. Di back in 2016 after years of unexplained infertility. I knew something was wrong, as I'd been with my husband for about a decade at the time with no pregnancy in sight. Never even a pregnancy scare. Before seeing Dr. D, I went to my regular OB-GYN and went through the tormenting process of timing intercourse, clomid cycles, countless exams, and I even did fertility-focused acupuncture. As a woman, I guess I assumed our fertility issues were caused by me; never considered male factor infertility. However, Dr. D cleared that up on our first appointment back in 2016. He is very blunt too. He diagnose my husband with low morphology (1%) and recommended that we proceed with IVF. Mentally we weren't ready for all that - IVF was a big step and my husband had lots of emotions about his diagnosis. Fast forward to 2019, after years of more therapies, 2 failed IUIs (not performed by Dr. D), hundreds of pregnancy tests, urology appointments and treatments, with no baby in sight, we decided to revisit Dr. D. We were finally ready! Can you believe he remembered us! He got us on a treatment plan and we went for it. This past March, we had our egg retrieval- 21 eggs retrieved, 8 mature, 5 fertilized, 5 blasts, and 4 PGS normal. I am excited to move forward with him, once we have the all clear from the COVID19 pandemic. Dr. D is the best!

Dr. D is very confident. I love that about him, because I like to know that I am dealing with the best. Just trust him.

Dr. D first recommended that we move straight to IVF. He mentioned that IUIs and other treatments would be wastes of money because of the low morphology issue. He said IVF with ICSI was needed to make sure the sperm penetrated the egg. He also had me go on metformin for 3 months before we started the egg retrieval protocol because of my history of lengthy menstrual cycles. He said long cycles and portions of my blood work indicated that PCOS may have been a factor. My vitamin D levels were also very low, so he had me see a endocrinologist to discuss PCOS and vitamin D.

about 12K plus medication

Dr. D only transfers one embryo if the embryos are PGS tested. His reasoning is that PGS tested embryos have a higher rate of pregnancy, therefore, reducing the need for multiple embryos. Dr. D also does frozen embryos only, because he states frozen embryos are more successful.

Dr. DiMattina is, as I mentioned before, kind, calm, controlled and clearly an expert in his field. As he was monitoring my follicles for retrieval, he was able to assess almost instantly whether or not we were ready for the procedure. My egg retrieval went perfectly. Embryo fertilization went perfectly. My embryo transfer also went perfectly. I kept sharing with my friends and family that the entire process from the start of my cycle to the transfer was so straight forward and easy - which I did not expect it to be! I believe Dr. D played a huge role in that. I also believe that Dr. D genuinely is invested in helping families like ours create a life together, and although we weren't successful with this treatment, we intend to try again.

I would recommend that you try to allow yourself to trust that he will give you the information that you need, but if you want more details (like the size of your ovarian follicles on each visit, for example), you should ask him questions. I have no doubt that he is happy to answer them.

I was put on a daily dose of baby Aspirin to help with the lining of my uterus. Once our embryo was fertilized, I began taking supplemental progesterone and estradiol to prepare my body further for planned implantation. I also was to refrain from certain activities after my embryo transfer to attempt to secure implantation. The rationale for all of these is that combined, they offer the best possible chance for an embryo to implant into the uterus for pregnancy.

Monitoring appointments happen in the mornings every day of the week, starting slightly later on the weekends. You can come in anytime during the window of about three hours. They almost always see you within ten minutes of your arrival time, and I was never there more than 20 minutes or so. For my personal schedule (I work afternoons and nights), it is a little challenging because I must be in there before 9 AM, but for most people working in jobs during the day, I imagine it's a very convenient process.

Because Virginia doesn't have a mandate for fertility treatment coverage through health care, patients pay for all of treatments out of pocket. Prior to starting treatment, we did a mock embryo transfer and a water sonogram, which cost us a total of $650. Most everything that occurs during a Natural Cycle IVF treatment (monitoring, egg retrieval, semen collection, fertilization, embryo transfer, etc.) is covered under a package price of $4900. We also paid for assisted hatching of the embryo at $500. Anesthesia for the egg retrieval is an additional separate cost of $500, and then there is the cost of medications, which for us was around $300. All in all, our treatment cost us around $6850.

This particular question is not applicable to us for this treatment, because we did a Natural Cycle IVF (there was only one egg produced by my body naturally for retrieval).

I fully trust Dr. D's medical expertise - that is why we stayed with him when we had to do a second cycle. However, I found it incredibly frustrating that when I would ask specific questions about my case, like why do you think our results were below expectations, or why are you choosing the same medical protocol when it didn't work that well before, or how many follicles do you see (during a monitoring appointment), he would never give me specific answers and often seemed to take offense that I was asking questions at all, like I was questioning his ability or something.

If you're the kind of patient who wants your hand held and wants to understand in detail every step of this process, he may not be your guy.

I used an antagonist protocol with estrace starting on Day 19 before the IVF cycle, then 150 of Follistim and 150 of Menopur nightly until starting Ganirelex around mid-cycle. We only got 1 PGT-A normal embryo in the first cycle, so we did another one.

Pretty efficiently run. I was usually in and out between 30-45 minutes.

I chose a package that included up to two retrievals (embryo banking) and up to two transfers as needed until a live birth. The total cost was around $28,000, which included the retrievals, all monitoring, ICSI, assisted hatching if needed. That cost did not include IVF meds ($5-9k), anesthesia for egg retrieval ($500), PGT-A testing ($150/embryo).

Dr D is very knowledgeable and explained everything in person. I cried during our testing results appt and he immediately stopped, asked how I was doing, and if we wanted to stop and whether I wanted to come back. He is not an overly emotional dr, but I didn't want that. I wanted and needed someone who could show compassion but also focus on the plan and the future and that's exactly what he does.

It's ok to be nervous going into the appt and to be overwhelmed with all of the information you're getting. After our testing results appt, Dr D told us to call him with any questions. We called him a few days later and recalled me back only a few minutes later. I also was able conference call my husband into the call and Dr D. answered all of our additional questions.

We're still early in the process but our current plan is to do traditional IVF with our own eggs and sperm. I'll be starting the injections soon. I have low ovarian reserve despite my age, so we're doing this as soon as possible to get as many good eggs from me as possible. My husband's sperm has morphology issues so we'll probably end up doing ICSI. Dr D only does FET because the outcomes are much better than the fresh embryo transfers, and we'll be doing PGS since my ovarian reserve is low. I'll be sure to update as I progress through everything.

We're lucky that our insurance covers infertility treatment. They do all of the pre-authorizing and tell us what is and is not covered by insurance.

He almost always only does single embryo transfers, I think they are very rare cases where he might do multiple. With the technology today, especially the PGS there isn't the need to do multiple with the hope that at least one will take.

His bedside manner is very blunt, and he seemed personally offended by any questions I had about the process, like he expected me to have blind faith since he was the expert. I understand that he is, but strongly feel given the nature of this science, patients will have questions and it’s only professional to answer them willingly. I am by no means a pushy person, but he made me feel I was by rolling his eyes when I’d ask questions or sarcastically saying things like, “someone’s been doing research.” He told us many times that he’d “get me pregnant” and when that didn’t happen, he just kept repeating that most people do; he seemed more frustrated than compassionate and didn’t have much to offer in terms of how we might do things differently.

I would say have a very thick skin and be prepared to advocate for yourself.

I was on the antagonist protocol for both IVF cycles. I do not know the rationale for this, but it seems to be a common protocol. I ended up with one genetically normal embryo from each retrieval.

Most monitoring appointments were fairly quick, and I was able to get to work on time afterwards. On weekends they took longer because only one of their three clinics is open on weekends and it wold be more crowded because of that. Still though, it wasn’t bad.

I was lucky enough to have insurance coverage at 60% with a $2500 out of pocket max.This means I paid that plus fees to have embryos genetically tested and stored.

My doctor would only transfer one genetically tested embryo at a time, which I was comfortable with.

Dr. D was always upfront about the treatment. Natural IVF is not offered at many clinics, but Dr. D takes the time educate his patients and select the best option for treatement. I never had any doubts about his knowledge and experience.

Dr. DiMattina will recommend the best treatment for you. Though the initial test seem daunting they help develop the picture of what is the best path to conceive. Never be afraid to ask questions, Dr. D will always take time talk to you.

Since I was younger (30) when I started treatment and I was doing fertility treatment due to male factor, I was recommended the Natural IVF cycle. This was great because it was the quarter of the cost of one cycle, and there were little use of extra hormones. I came to the office about 4-5 times fir blood test and ultrasounds (to track the growth of my egg). With Natural IVF there is only one egg produced at a time. Then when my egg was mature enough I was told to do a trigger shot (which speeds up the maturity). Within 36 hours I was in the office for an egg retrieval. I came back 5 days later for transfer. While waiting for my transfer I was prescribed progesterone and estrogen.

We used Natural Cycle IVF. It took three treatment cycles to be successful (2 did not reach the egg transfer stage). In total we spent 16,500

If you need hand holding, he's not for you. However, for us it was more important to feel we were receiving the best medical treatment and he is highly competent. He's blunt and gets right down to business but in the end he actually opened up and grew on us a bit. He's progressive (first to offer PGS and PGD along with natural cycle IVF, which worked for us on our 2nd pregnancy). He will try different approaches quickly if something is not working.

Trust him.

First pregnancy- egg retrievals using hormone injections. First cycle was a fresh transfer (unsuccessful). He believed my body did not want to get pregnant while having the drugs in my system so we waited a month and next cycle was a natural cycle frozen transfer which resulted in a baby. 2nd pregnancy- 4 yrs later had diminished ovarian reserve. Got fewer and less quality eggs; 2 transfers, no pregnancy. Switched it up to natural cycle IVF. Pregnant on first try.

They had a long time window for monitoring so you can easily pick a time convenient for you. Wait times varied greatly depending on patients that day. I've gotten in 5 minutes, but sometimes waited up to 30.

First 3 cycles covered by insurance. Paid out of pocket for last 2. They would not offer us a guarantee package due to my low ovarian reserve even though I was only 34.

Dr. D was a warm and caring Doctor. After the third or fourth cycle failed, however, the answer was always the same: come in for a chat. But talking was not going to ever change the outcome of our failed fertility cycles. By the time it was over, I wanted to only see Dr. Gordon. He was younger, fresher and seemingly more up to date on the latest medical studies

Use all the doctors at Dominion. If you're going the natural cycle route, that's what they will do anyway because no doctor can be in seven days a week. Read up on Dr. Gordon and his publications online before selecting a doctor at Dominion

Dominion fertility is a "natural cycle" IVF clinic pioneer in the field. Dr. D led this revolution on the East Coast after studying in Europe for sometime. His approach is one of minimal drugs and truly adhering to nature – only transferring the number of embryos naturally conceived without any drugs. The doctor's job is to simply monitor your natural cycle. If and when it does not work out, the solution is always to try again the next month. That is very much in line with nature and God's creation. However, it all falls apart after the sixth cycle failure and $40,000 gone... However, most women will probably conceived with Dr. D in 1, 2 or maximum 3 cycles ... so this is not an issue

Monitoring is by default a disorganized event. Some days there are very few women in the waiting room and other days it is packed with a line out the door. Typically at this clinic, they see you quickly. However, they separate the blood draw from the sonogram and you are forced back into the waiting room a second time in between the two. It is an aggravating experience where you wish they would just combine it all into one visit

The cost quoted is not exactly the same as the cost billed per natural cycle IVF. There are additional hidden fees that are not self evident as part of the process, so the monthly bill is roughly $1,000 to $2,000 higher than what is quoted to you for a natural cycle. Heads up!

He was very direct and honest, which I appreciated. Bedside manner was good enough - I was not trying to find a new best friend, rather the best doctor that would give me the results I wanted, and he was definitely the one. He is a leader in the industry and treated my case with the attention I desired.

Know that you aren't going to get a lot of warm-fuzzies, but will ideally get the results you desire.

I went in for monitoring first thing in the morning when they opened. A nurse would take my blood and then I would see one of the 3 doctors for the ultrasound. I would say I had to wait 10-20 maximum, sometimes only 5.

I selected a package that allowed 2 retrievals and unlimited implantations. It also included assisted hatching, ICSI, etc. therefore making it almost equivalent to the cost of doing everything a la carte. I luckily didn't need the 2nd round, but don't mind that I paid a bit more for the peace of mind.

the nurses are amazing, especially Sam and Natalie, but the whole staff really is invested in their patient's success. I had some really wild mood swings and they talked me off the roof more than once.

He is very candid and some may find him too blunt, but I liked his straight forward explanation.

gonal-f and menopur for 9 days triggered on day 10 and froze embryos and 3 came back normal. I have 2 left for a sibling for my son.

They open very early in the Arlington office M-F, but weekends get busy and the wait time increases.

I was lucky to have some coverage for IVF, but ICSI/PGS was separate charge

Strong preference for transferring one.

He's older so he is very blunt and direct, but I think it's because he knows what he's doing. He prefers to do his own monitoring and procedures, but I saw the other doctors as well. He is the medical director and it's clear the others look to him for guidance.

Be prepared to do more listening than asking questions.

Stop Lupron protocol with max drugs starting on day 2, retrieval was day 11.

We did have to wait on the weekend in Arlington, but the Bethesda office was very efficient.

We did financial guarantee plan for 24k plus the cost of medications.

They only transfer one embryo.

He is very direct and explains things like a scientist.

Write down your questions so you don't forget them during a consult.

We had done two failed cycles at another clinic and I had 3 miscarriages so Dr. D suggested IVF with PGS.

It was busy on weekends, but they open at 0630 during the week and I was able to get in and to work on time.

The billing staff was very helpful with my insurance which luckily covered most of my treatment.

Dr. DiMattina was very competent and confident - it's what attracted us to him during our initial consult. He's been doing this a very long time and has had great success. He assured us he could help us have a healthy baby. What followed lead us to leave this practice and start treatment at another clinic. On multiple occasions I felt he didn't take the time to listen to me (one time I had a list of questions prepared because I was afraid he would dismiss me - and he was in such a rush he told me to ask them while he was giving me a vaginal ultrasound. He was in the room for less than 2 minutes, didn't fully answer my questions and then ran out. I balled for about 10 minutes in the room before emerging. To his credit, when I confronted the nurse and said my questions hadn't been sufficiently answered, he called me that afternoon to discuss. I felt like he had a protocol that he would use for each patient and wasn't willing to consider that bodies and people are different. I didn't have the confidence that I would receive the individualized care needed to move on to IVF.

I would say that you need to advocate for yourself and be prepared to let him know when you're unhappy.

We had to do 6 cycles of IUI per our insurance requirement (not a recommended strategy for me since I have DOR). We did 3 cycles of ovarian stimulation (letrozole) and IUI and then 3 cycles of ovarian stim (letrozole) with timed intercourse. The 6th and final cycle resulted in a chemical pregnancy.

Dr Dimatinna was quick to diagnose my partner and suggested ivf immediately. Our consultation moved faster than I would like but he answered all our initial questions. My partner had many more questions later on and when ha asked, the Dr seemd to get defensive about it. So my partner and I decided he should have less contact just so it wouldn't upset me. I was the so called mediator asking questions for my husband and when the Dr started to brush off my questions I got very emotional. I felt like I needed to know more but he couldn't be bothered to answer them. I was already on all the meds and preparing for a transfer. I was hoping he would be a little more compassionate. But everything was business and he had to keep it running. He was always rushing off to the next patient. In the end the transfer was successful and test was positive. When I saw the baby on the screen I was happy but I think he expected me to show more emotion. He seemed disappointed. He then handed me a folder and said if I was happy with my experience, they would appreciate if I give them a glowing review. I liked him in the beginning at the consultation but then felt like he was always in a hurry later.

He has his system in place and it works for him. He doesn't like to have it slow down by spending more time to answer questions. if you need someone to be more personable, maybe choose another doctor.