I had a good experience with Dr. Ghosh with regards to my egg retrieval process. She was approachable and explained the process in great detail. She often asked how I was doing so I didn't feel like I was being talked down at...Ask as many questions as you can - Dr. Ghosh really takes the time to listen and explain her answers...I was pleased with the results when everything was over, and am glad I got to work with Dr. Ghosh.
The accessibility of the [Columbia University] location and professionalism of the staff made me feel eased and comforted. I was happy to select this clinic for my egg retrieval process. From what I observed, the clinic was well-run and all of the medical staff worked efficiently...[nurse] Elizabeth was communicative and responsive to all of my questions and concerns. I couldn't have asked for a better nurse coordinator. Like Dr. Ghosh, she was also approachable and asked for my input as I went through the hormone injections.
How was your experience with Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
I had a good experience with Dr. Ghosh with regards to my egg retrieval process. She was approachable and explained the process in great detail. She often asked how I was doing so I didn't feel like I was being talked down at. Overall, the egg retrieval and freezing process was what I expected - I had fatigue in the beginning of the hormone injections, followed by slight nausea and bloating as I was nearing the end of the process. The part I disliked were the blood draws; my veins became quite bruised. The hormone injections weren't too bad - I got used to them by the third day. I was pleased with the results when everything was over, and am glad I got to work with Dr. Ghosh.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Ask as many questions as you can - Dr. Ghosh really takes the time to listen and explain her answers.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
She was patient and took the time to answer my questions. Dr. Ghosh also followed up with me throughout the entire retrieval process to see how I was doing.
Describe the protocols Priyanka Ghosh used in your cycles at Columbia University and their degree of success.
I took a course of 2-3 injections every night for about 10 days before the egg retrieval. I was told my body reacted well to the injections and at the end, I was able to retrieve more than 30 eggs and froze more than 20 of them.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Columbia University. (Assigned nurse: Elizabeth Ginley)
Elizabeth was communicative and responsive to all of my questions and concerns. I couldn't have asked for a better nurse coordinator. Like Dr. Ghosh, she was also approachable and asked for my input as I went through the hormone injections.
Describe your experience with Columbia University.
The accessibility of the location and professionalism of the staff made me feel eased and comforted. I was happy to select this clinic for my egg retrieval process. From what I observed, the clinic was well-run and all of the medical staff worked efficiently.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University.
The total cost of the procedure was about $13,000. Through my employer, I was able to apply for partial reimbursement through WIN Fertility.
Describe Priyanka Ghosh's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Columbia University.
Dr. Ghosh is empathetic, thoughtful, kind, bright and communicative. She was responsive and we always knew we could ask her any questions that we had throughout the process. She is direct, but says everything in a way that 'makes sense' and doesn't feel confusing to the patients...is great at looking at all possible scenarios / options, so just make sure to share exactly what you're hoping for during the process.
Columbia's appointments run on time, the facility is beautiful and clean, and the front desk staff is friendly. I never had to wait long to be seen by any Doctors and everyone who I met during monitoring or ultrasound appointments was competent and friendly...I can't say enough great things about the nurse and the care coordinators...We loved Dr. Ghosh's team and working with them was one of the highlights of our time with Columbia.
How was your experience with Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Dr. Ghosh is empathetic, thoughtful, kind, bright and communicative. She was responsive and we always knew we could ask her any questions that we had throughout the process. She is direct, but says everything in a way that 'makes sense' and doesn't feel confusing to the patients.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Dr. Ghosh is great at looking at all possible scenarios / options, so just make sure to share exactly what you're hoping for during the process.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Dr. Ghosh and her team are fantastic. She listened to our concerns, answered all of our questions in a very timely manner, and was just a really, really easy person to work with.
Describe the protocols Priyanka Ghosh used in your cycles at Columbia University and their degree of success.
One round of successful IVF and a natural cycle for the embryo transfer.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Columbia University. (Assigned nurse: Daniella)
I can't say enough great things about the nurse and the care coordinators. We had come from a different clinic where the team was terrible and unresponsive, so it truly was night and day. We loved Dr. Ghosh's team and working with them was one of the highlights of our time with Columbia.
Describe your experience with Columbia University.
Columbia's appointments run on time, the facility is beautiful and clean, and the front desk staff is friendly. I never had to wait long to be seen by any Doctors and everyone who I met during monitoring or ultrasound appointments was competent and friendly.
Describe Priyanka Ghosh's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Columbia University.
We did not discuss the options, but we were planning on an elective single embryo transfer regardless of our Doctor's opinion.
Dr. Ghosh is an intelligent, empathetic, compassionate, and careful doctor who treats her patients with the utmost respect. She is candid about the limits of current fertility science, which allows her to provide accurate up-to-date information and cutting edge clinical advice without creating unrealistic expectations in either a positive or a negative direction. She listens attentively to patient feedback and takes into account the patient's desires in planning her treatment. When performing procedures, she is gentle and respectful, always ensuring she has consent and being attentive to her patient's comfort. She is culturally competent in working with LGBT families and is a pleasure to talk to even during stressful times.
CUFC is a modern, organized and fairly smoothly-run operation. It does not feel like a for-profit mill; it feels like a medical center that employs the latest research and tailors treatment appropriately to the individual...Our care coordinator responded promptly to emails, including when time-sensitive problems came up. I am not sure we ever met her in person, but we appreciated the ability to reach her quickly, including outside of normal office hours, when we had an urgent scheduling problem. We received communications from multiple other nurses during stims, and their emailed instructions were clear.
How was your experience with Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Dr. Ghosh is an intelligent, empathetic, compassionate, and careful doctor who treats her patients with the utmost respect. She is candid about the limits of current fertility science, which allows her to provide accurate up-to-date information and cutting edge clinical advice without creating unrealistic expectations in either a positive or a negative direction. She listens attentively to patient feedback and takes into account the patient's desires in planning her treatment. When performing procedures, she is gentle and respectful, always ensuring she has consent and being attentive to her patient's comfort. She is culturally competent in working with LGBT families and is a pleasure to talk to even during stressful times.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Do not be afraid to ask questions, make suggestions, and ask which aspects of treatment are necessary and what other options she sees for you - Dr. Ghosh will listen and engage collaboratively with you in your care.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Dr. Ghosh is warm and friendly, remembers my family and the ages of my older children, paid attention to and remembers the details of my prior treatment, explains the reasoning behind her recommendations and answers our questions honestly, respects our choices about what treatment to pursue or decline without judgment, and unhesitatingly provides her reasoned clinical opinions, while offering appropriate caveats where there are simply unknowns. She always empathizes with us at difficult results, and is joyful along with us at good results!
Describe the protocols Priyanka Ghosh used in your cycles at Columbia University and their degree of success.
In light of my age (39), AMH (decent for my age, but not high), and antral follicle count, Dr. Ghosh used estrogen priming followed by a relatively aggressive antagonist protocol. The purpose of estrogen priming was to promote growth of a more even follicle cohort, particularly since my experience taking clomid and letrozole with a prior physician was that a lead follicle would always jump ahead very early in my cycle. Dr. Ghosh intentionally did not prime with hormonal birth control to avoid over-suppression. I began estrogen priming with Estrace 2mg twice daily after cycle day 21 of the previous cycle, ending at the next cycle day 1. Then, following bloodwork and ultrasound, we began a stimulation cycle with Follistim 300 IU and Menopur 150 IU, adding Ganirelix 250mcg partway through the cycle. The estrogen priming did appear to result in successful growth of a relatively even follicle cohort. Bloodwork showed my estrogen was quite high despite my age and the limited number of follicles that appeared to be of a retrievable size on ultrasound, so to reduce the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation, Dr. Ghosh had me trigger with Leuprolide Acetate 40 units when the follicles were the appropriate size, rather than using a Pregnyl or combined trigger. Dr. Ghosh advised that I would likely be able to retrieve about twelve eggs. Following retrieval (which was performed by a different physician), I learned that indeed twelve eggs were retrieved, with ten being mature, and eight fertilizing successfully using ICSI with frozen donor sperm. Two embryos met criteria on day 6 in this freeze-all cycle, and both were biopsied and PGT-A tested. Fortunately, both embryos turned out to be euploid. Before learning the PGT results, I discussed options for a future retrieval cycle with Dr. Ghosh in light of the other physician's statement that there were a large number of empty follicles present at retrieval; Dr. Ghosh advised that some options might include adding an extra day of stimulation to allow more time for follicles to mature, since despite my high estrogen I did not ever appear to develop any symptoms of ovarian hyperstimulation, and/or using a combined trigger that included Pregnyl, which might also have resulted in more mature eggs. I was glad that Dr. Ghosh took seriously the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation in my first cycle, and I believe these were both reasonable and well-founded options to tweak future treatment had I needed to go forward with a second retrieval cycle. Fortunately, that was not necessary: since we were pursuing reciprocal IVF, we proceeded with a frozen embryo transfer for my wife using a mostly natural cycle--she was monitored for follicle growth and LH surge without the use of any medications, and then triggered when an LH surge had been detected. Dr. Ghosh performed a day 5 frozen embryo transfer with a single euploid embryo. My wife used only progesterone in oil injections during the luteal phase and continuing forward after a positive beta. We had requested the use of progesterone in oil despite the transfer cycle being otherwise natural, based upon past IVF treatment where my wife had seen success with this method, and Dr. Ghosh appropriately advised us on benefits and drawbacks to doing the same in this cycle, and allowed us to pursue this method because it was our preference. We had two strong positive betas on days 9 and 11 post transfer, and were monitored by ultrasound during pregnancy weeks five through eight. We were released from the clinic following a good ultrasound with strong heartbeat at eight weeks!
Describe your experience with your nurse at Columbia University. (Assigned nurse: Daniella Bloch)
Our care coordinator responded promptly to emails, including when time-sensitive problems came up. I am not sure we ever met her in person, but we appreciated the ability to reach her quickly, including outside of normal office hours, when we had an urgent scheduling problem. We received communications from multiple other nurses during stims, and their emailed instructions were clear.
Describe your experience with Columbia University.
CUFC is a modern, organized and fairly smoothly-run operation. It does not feel like a for-profit mill; it feels like a medical center that employs the latest research and tailors treatment appropriately to the individual. The new Westchester location made it possible for us to pursue treatment with CUFC, with the only drawback being that weekend monitoring appointments can only take place in the Manhattan location, which is time-consuming for Westchester patients. The offices are clean and comfortable, and each appointment room allows the patient to view ultrasound results in real time. Appointment times were mostly convenient, with IVF monitoring taking place in the early pre-workday hours, and pregnancy ultrasound in the later morning; occasionally, overscheduling of IVF monitoring patients with inadequate staffing at the Westchester office would result in lengthy delays, and front desk staff did not always try to triage the situation or display appropriate understanding of the difficulties this can create for working patients. Monitoring can be performed by any of the physicians onsite, and each of them who were not my own physician were kind and professional. The phlebotomist at the Westchester location is unfortunately less skilled than some I have encountered at other practices, and may need additional training to be able to work well with patients who have more difficulty with blood draws. But overall, the staff at both offices were friendly and competent.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University.
I was able to use insurance coverage for most of my treatment with Dr. Ghosh, and we had met our deductible from prior care during the year. Monitoring appointments had a $50 copay, which quickly adds up with the number of those appointments necessary during retrieval and transfer cycles. The PGT-A hatching fee to the clinic was $2500, with the testing laboratory billing separately at a rate of $300 per embryo sample sent for PGT-A. There is a yearly fee of $1200 for embryo storage which begins immediately upon cryopreservation of any embryos, without any grace period, which differs from some other clinics that do not charge for storage while a patient is in active treatment. There is a donor sperm intake fee of $150, and a yearly sperm storage fee of $600 after 60 days. Anesthesia for egg retrieval is billed to a separate entity but was in-network. All medications were covered by insurance and copays were modest. In sum, we needed to pay $2650 out of pocket prior to beginning a stimulation and retrieval cycle, with additional billing following as claims were submitted to insurance. Because medical billing is so slow, we do not know yet whether we will continue to receive additional bills for services rendered.
Describe Priyanka Ghosh's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Columbia University.
Dr. Ghosh advised us appropriately and correctly that current studies show a better chance of success over time with sequential single embryo transfers rather than a transfer of two embryos simultaneously. She also advised us on the increased risks of a twin pregnancy.
[Dr. Priyanka Ghosh] is a very good listener. She asked me about my history and took time to answer all my questions. I did not feel rushed or pressured to pursue any type of treatment. She followed up with me regularly to see how I was doing...Take your time and ask as many questions as you would like...I never felt rushed or uncomfortable.
The entire care team [at Columbia University] was very organized and was prompt in getting back to me when I had questions. They helped me schedule appointments and helped me understand the process. They were very helpful and patient...Almost everything has been covered by my insurance. I've had a few copays. There was a financial coordinator who helped me...The clinic was very clean and comfortable. Everyone I interacted with was friendly and seemed like they cared about the patients. I never felt rushed or uncomfortable.
How was your experience with Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Dr. Ghosh is a very good listener. She asked me about my history and took time to answer all my questions. I did not feel rushed or pressured to pursue any type of treatment. She followed up with me regularly to see how I was doing.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Take your time and ask as many questions as you would like.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University?
Dr. Ghosh is a very good listener. She asked me about my history and took time to answer all my questions. I did not feel rushed or pressured to pursue any type of treatment.
Describe the protocols Priyanka Ghosh used in your cycles at Columbia University and their degree of success.
I don't remember specifics.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Columbia University.
The entire care team was very organized and was prompt in getting back to me when I had questions. They helped me schedule appointments and helped me understand the process. They were very helpful and patient.
Describe your experience with Columbia University.
The clinic was very organized, prompt with appointments, and the staff was very friendly and organized. The clinic was very clean and comfortable. Everyone I interacted with was friendly and seemed like they cared about the patients. I never felt rushed or uncomfortable.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Priyanka Ghosh at Columbia University.
Almost everything has been covered by my insurance. I've had a few copays. There was a financial coordinator who helped me.
Describe Priyanka Ghosh's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Columbia University.
