Rony Elias

Dr Elias is extremely intelligent and knows his stuff. Among other tests, he did a HSG and felt one of my tubes was questionable and told me I would need a lap. However, when the radiologist read the images, the radiologist read them as normal. Dr Elias then said we should hold off on the lap and try some clomid cycles, some with IUI. They didn’t work and finally I told him I wanted the lap and to move to ivf which he agreed to readily. Turned out my left tube was completely blocked, Black, twisted, a total mess and had to be removed. I wish Dr Elias had been more aggressive and gone with his gut feeling after the HSG that the tube was not right and recommended a lap from the beginning (which I would have been fine with) - especially since previous to developing the tube issue developing, I’d always gotten pregnant on the first month of trying (although many ended in miscarriage). I wasted 7 months and a large chunk of my insurance money on IUIs and clomid cycles that were never going to work with that tube. At the age of 42, the wasted 7 months was the hardest to swallow. Shortly after tube surgery, i had a failed ivf cycle, but then got pregnant naturally 2 months later. With that said, Dr Elias knows his stuff and is a kind and caring doctor - wish he’d been more aggressive particularly with my age.

If you want to try something other than what Dr Elias suggests, bring it up - you don’t always need to follow his advice. He is pretty amenable to doing what you want at the end of the day. He was even willing to work with a reproductive immunologist (Dr Braverman) and make changes to the ivf protocol that I suggested.

Dr Elias frequently checked in with me and was always very quick to respond to my emails. More to the point, when my ivf cycle failed he left me a voicemail and expressed his sympathy. During our follow up appointment soon after, he was caring, but also realistic presenting all the facts.

2 clomid cycles with timed inter course. 1 clomid cycle with IUI. 1 ivf with estrogen prime, menopur, gonal-f, cetrotide - produced 9 eggs, 4 fertilized, day 3 fresh transfer of 3 embryos (bfn) and the other 2 embryos didn’t make it to feeeze.

The nursing staff in NYC upper east side was very busy and I felt like just a number - which was fine. I had most monitoring visits in the satellite office in Mt Kisco and the nurse there wasn’t too friendly not talkative, but she was overall ok - that didn’t bother me.

They have an excellent lab, are organized. Definitely felt like a number in the NYC office, but the Mt Kisco satellite office was much more personable. Often very long waits for monitoring at the NYC upper east side and a complete cattle call. Monitoring hours were 7-9am which was tough for me to make.

NYC Upoer east side was a cattle call - I only went there on weekends and would sometimes have to wait 2 hours With every seat taken in their extremely large waiting room. Mt Kisco Office was much better, much more personable with sometimes no wait, and never more than 45 Min wait.

They were covered under my Fertility insurance, but the costs at Cornell are very high. About $15K per cycle plus then add on service - freezing, ICSI etc

Dr Elias said with my age, 42, he recommended day 3 transfer of 3-4 embryos to give me the best chance of pregnancy (embryos do better back in the body) and PGS testing on remaining embryos to freeze.

Strengths — answers emails extremely quickly. Objectively assessed my results even when he wasn’t on call — another physician personally mentioned that he called for more information about my ultrasound during morning monitoring one weekend. Weaknesses — clinic can be disorganized and doctors can fall victim to nurses basically trying to apply protocols that don’t always fit — they can’t catch every issue on every patient and still be a functional member of society.

Nothing specific.

Dr Elias was extremely attentive and answered all my questions intelligently. He did it ignore, belittle, or minimize any concerns. I think he’s intelligent and caring.

He uses an estrogen patch prior to he initiation of a cycle in an attempt to keep eggs growing at a similar rate and retrieve more mature eggs. He did a double trigger (lupron/ovidrel or lupron/bHCG) and also at times extends your trigger-retrieval interval to 37 hours based on recent evidence that 1-2 hours of extra in vivo time will better mature eggs.

Lisa Artusa is amazing. So sweet and lovely. Just makes you feel special and never a burden. Reminder of nurses were always nice.

Strengths — Huge number of cycles and success. Weaknesses — So many cycles that you really have to be on top of things and watch everything yourself. Closely. There were several near misses. Nurses and at times, even other doctors during monitoring try to apply protocol themselves. You have to be vigilant to ensure the plan that your physician set forth is being followed.

Morning monitoring takes a long time. I would get there sometimes 45 minutes prior to opening (6:30) so that I could be first and make it to work by 7:30. If you arrive after 6:30 AM, you might be there for an hour.

Medications cost a lot. Only $1800 was covered by my insurance. The balance of the treatment was covered and I paid co pays and some residual costs.

I transferred 2 embryos. I don’t know what his policy is for other patients.

Dr. Elias diagnosed me very easily with the HSG test and found a hydrosalpinx in my right fallopian tube (where I had my ovary removed 15 years ago). He did the surgery to remove that tube and ended up removing the left tube as well, as it was also diseased and he did not want it to cause another miscarriage (I had one a year ago, likely due to the blocked tube). He did an excellent job on my surgery - I had laparoscopic surgery years ago to remove my ovary due to a dermoid cyst, and my recovery was MUCH worse then. I had very little pain and healed quickly after the surgery. We started IVF the next month. Dr. Elias did my retrieval even though he wasn't scheduled to do so (he was on call in the office) which I really appreciated. There was a possibility I was going to need to have a trans-abdominal retrieval and he wanted to be the one to do it. Thankfully, that did not happen and I ended up having 8 eggs, which was much higher than either of us expected. We had also expected to need to do a day 3 transfer, but we were able to do a day 5 transfer of a fresh embryo and then freeze the remaining 3. Unfortunately, the transfer was not successful. We plan on trying a frozen transfer with the remaining embryos and are hopeful we will have success in the coming months. I really like Dr. Elias - I find him to be very statistics focused, and he is well-read about all of the current research. My only complaint is that sometimes I find him a bit hard to understand as he has a bit of an accent and speaks quickly. However, that has not impacted my care in any way. I highly recommend him!

I did not realize that I would need to go to the Upper East Side office so often - you have to go there for all procedures, classes and weekend monitoring. I moved to Westchester a few months ago and figured that everything would be in Westchester in the Mt. Kisco office, but that was not correct. That being said, I like having access to the Cornell team but able to see Dr. Elias in the Mt. Kisco office which is smaller and less intimidating and factory-like than the UES office.

Dr. Elias knew me and my situation and I never felt like a number. His staff in Mt Kisco also knew me and they were all very kind and helpful.

I used 225 UI of Follistim and 150 of Menopur and then added in Ganirelix towards the end of my stim cycle. I was given Lupron and HCG as my trigger and then I opted to use Crinone instead of Progesterone in Oil after my transfer, as I was very anxious about additional shots.

Lisa has been great to work with, and is very responsive to emails and calls. I saw her once at my initial meeting and then during weekend monitoring, I ran into her in the blood work room. She remembered me and was very sweet. She was also incredibly sweet when she called to tell me I was not pregnant - I imagine a very difficult call to have to make. I also interacted a lot with Jessica and Joanne at the Mt. Kisco office and they are both lovely.

I really like going to the Mt. Kisco office because it doesn't feel like a factory, in contrast with the UES office. I also really like that I saw Dr. Elias every time I was there, as I know many others who did not have that experience of seeing their specific doctor. My only complaint was that I didn't realize I would have to go to the UES office so much - and the parking there is super expensive, and the drive can be challenging.

If I was going in for monitoring at Mt. Kisco, I would get there about 30-45 minutes before they opened so that I could swipe in as early as possible. I work at a school and I'm supposed to be in at 8:15, so I needed to go in early; however, on a day when I didn't have to work I went in later and the wait was not bad at all. So if I had more flexibility, I wouldn't have to have gotten there so early. The monitoring on the UES felt much more "factory-like", however, I never had to wait all that long there either.

I did not have insurance coverage. The IVF cycle cost $10500, my medications ended up costing $5900, the freezing of our embryos cost $1000 and we paid about $1000 for a sounding test and for sperm analysis.

We opted to transfer one embryo as we were very concerned about having twins. We may eventually try two in our frozen transfers, but wanted to be conservative initially.

Dr. Elias is very good about laying things out and having very candid conversations. He has always had a calming effect on me even when he's delivering bad news. He gives me as much time as I need to ask my questions. I never feel like he's rushing me out the door.

Do not be afraid to ask questions or ask for clarification.

He has always been very patient with me in allowing me to ask questions. I never feel like he is rushing me. He is very kind when I've been upset.

My first 3 IUIs were with Clomid. I produced 1or 2 mature follicles each time. My 4th IUI was an injectible cycle using Menopur and I had 3 mature follicles. My first IVF cycle involved Menopur, Gonal-F and Cetrotide. Dr. Elias thought I had 5 mature follicles, but on retrieval day, they were only able to get 3 because the other 2 were too immature and wouldn't have made it. All 3 eggs fertilized, but 1 developed abnormal cells and was not viable. The other 2 were graded as a 1.5 and a 2 and were transferred on day 3. My second IVF cycle involved Lupron, Menopur and Gonal-F. I did not respond well to this protocol and an ultrasound and MRI revealed a large tumor on my sacrum which led to my cycle being canceled. The tumor has been removed and I am now recovering from surgery and hope to resume IVF in May.

They always contacted me in a timely manner and took time to answer all of my questions and explain everything to me.

The clinic has an excellent reputation and operates like a well oiled machine. I like this, however, it can feel like a mill.

My insurance covered 3 IUI cycles. The rest I have paid out of pocket.

I was at another clinic in NYC where I had a negative experience with the dr rushing us through clomid cycles and overstimulating me on Follistim before even trying Clomid. We left that clinic after a referral from a colleague to try Cornell. I picked Dr Elias because he had experience with septate uteruses, which is what I had had. He was immediately responsive and after 2-3 cycles with him I was pregnant. He started slowly and really paid attention. After my first child turned 1, we went back to him to try for another baby. I had 6 iuis (Clomid cycles) last year. I was pregnant on the third one but miscarried and then again on the sixth but it was ectopic. So in terms of helping me get pregnant, I am happy with Dr. Elias. I don't know that there was anything else he could have done to avoid the pregnancy losses. Sometimes I did feel that he didn't grasp how awful the pregnancy loss was for us - the devastation we felt - or maybe he does but doesn't get into the emotions. Hard to say. He did spend a decent amount of time with us with both losses explaining options and future options. One thing also to note is that when we started seeing him he was more available and less rushed. Now he seems to have a much larger caseload.

Trust him to know your case. But also ask questions.

Dr Elias replies to emails regularly even over the weekend. When I was having an ectopic pregnancy - I was in a tremendous amount of pain and he replied to my emails over night. Though I don't see him usually more than once or twice a cycle, I feel like he follows my case closely.

With my first pregnancy, the follicle size got to 24mm. This is larger than it needed to be to move to the trigger shot. However, this resulted in a viable pregnancy. So he used this same method for all my Clomid cycles lat year (6 of them). Two resulted in pregnancies. Neither was viable, however.

She calls back and answers questions all the time. Sometimes there is a delay in reply as she is out of the office now and then. When someone is covering for her there is not always the same level of quality in communications and care.

The clinic has the system down to a science and operates like a well-oiled machine. These types of clinics can often make one feel like an animal in their treatment of patients, but I haven't felt that here. The waiting area is well situated and waiting times for daily monitoring are minimal. The only problem for me is that it is a pain to get there. One area for improvement is their billing department. Last year they double charged me several appointments. My have colleagues who use this clinic who have said that it has been a nightmare as well working with the billing department.

Only my co-pays for drugs. My insurance covers iuis and the meds for iuis but not IVF. We have not done IVF yet.

Fertility Medicine is a calling to Dr. Elias. It is evident in the time he takes to CAREFULLY and RESPECTIVELY explain your course of treatments. My first IVF with resulted in a live birth of a health baby girl. He PERSONALLY came an did the transfer and the retrieval of the eggs. I have a history of Fibroids and myomectomies so he thought we might need to do an abdominal retrieval. My second IVF with him was unsuccesful - but in all fairness I was almost 45 at the time trying to go with my own eggs. In my heart, I knew my changes were low, but I still wanted to try. He did not discourage me at all - he said my uterus was totally fine. In the second IVF, we did an abdominal retrieval and got just 3 eggs and transfered 3 embryos. Sadly, I did not get pregnant, but I cannot complain too much, because Dr Elias helped me have my first child at the age of 42 with my own eggs- my chances then were just about 5%. I have referred 2 of my friends to him and they all have families of their own too. I will remain eternally grateful to him and will continue to refer patients to him!

Sometimes he speaks fast, but all you need to do is ask him to repeat himself, which he is happy to do!

He was very attentive and explained everything about the procedure. I felt he was VERY vested in getting us pregnant!

I know I used A LOT of drugs! I think I was taking like 450 units of Follistim daily, and 150 menopur daily and I stimulated for 10 days each time. But I am older, so maybe needed more drugs. Either way, it worked the first time at age 41/42. So I guess he knew what he was doing.

Lisa is a riot!! She made the process so easy. She was organized and a pleasure to work with. My first IVF worked and the 2nd failed. She was so sad when she called to give me the news about the failed IVF. She and Dr. Elias make a great team.

Cornell is like a factory! That did not bother me at all - my focus was on getting RESULTS! In the results department, they are excellent. The doctors and nurses are simply amazing. Don't be overwhelmed or intimidated by the set-up there. Just focus on why you are there and don't be a stress freak - it is not even good for your chances. I did acupuncture for many months also which helped me with the stress reduction during the process.

Insurance covered most of my costs including my drugs.

We transferred 2 or 3 embryos each time. That was what I had anyone, so there was nothing to freeze.

Strengths: He does seem to know what he is doing, is very plugged into the latest research/reports/technology and treatment, is positive - never for a second do i think i won't get pregnant eventually - and this is weird but he has the gentlest touch with sonograms - literally don't feel a thing. He also did surgery to remove my right tube - and i have recovered with no issues and the tiniest scares. Weaknesses: During what was the most painful (physically and emotionally) time - during my ectopic pregnancy - he hardly checked in on me, I felt totally in the dark, he was very cavalier about surgery vs. drugs to remove, and once the surgery was over didn't call to check up on me that night or the next day. I had a very bad reaction to anesthesia and the hospital was forcing me to leave…if he had called i'm sure they would have treated me differently. And then when I got home I was panicked that I felt so bad, was bleeding, etc - and felt like I didn't know what to expect/what was normal/what wasn't. Right now I'm deciding if I want to stay with him for future treatment or see someone else in the practice.

Realize this is a first for many of us - the struggle, the delight, the disappointment - and to be better about communicating with patients - giving them the general context, the options and the details. I will say whenever i have expressed concern - or reached out - Dr. Elias has always called me back and given me the dedicated time.

In general Weill Cornell is a bit of a factory - they move a lot of women through the practice. My interactions with Dr. Elias have been less than expected since he is between NYC and Westchester. He is always very polite and informative - and I do really like him - but he can be very cold. Like when I first found out my pregnancy was not viable and I would miscarry he said "This is a good thing -you can get pregnant" - or when I later had to have surgery for what was an ectopic pregnancy he seemed very cavalier about removing the tube. I'm sure he sees everything 10X a day - but this was a first pregnancy, first miscarriage and then first surgery.

Devon calls every day on the dot at 3:30 - she is very sweet/compassionate and knows what she is talking about.

Most was covered by my insurance - just had to pay deductible and co-pays.

Dr. Elias was always a pleasure to see. He was always kind and patient when I had a lot of questions. He called me after hours when he needed to tell me important information related to my care. Dr. Elias has a wonderful bedside manner.

Dr. Elias is one doctor of a group of doctors at Weill-Cornell at NY Presbyterian Medical Center. He was my main doctor and responsible for my care. However, because he is just one doctor out of a group of amazing doctors, I did see other doctors as well. Dr. Elias did not do my transfer or my retrieval. If seeing the same doctor regularly and for the majority of the procedures is important to a patient, perhaps a smaller practice would be more appropriate.

Dr. Elias has a wonderful bedside manner. He is kind, patient and is invested in his patients care and success. He is very knowledgeable about infertility, about his patients needs and explains things thoroughly.

Because Weill-Cornell is such a huge hospital with a big fertility center, I didn't spend too much time actually speaking to Siobhan. However, whenever I did have a question about something or when the team needed to be in contact with me, it was always seamless. I never had any issue.

I did most of my monitoring (generally Monday through Friday) in the Mt. Kisco (Westchester) office. They always started with blood work first. Because it is a smaller office, there is only one technician (or there was only one technician when I was there in the summer-fall 2013). There would be a wait for blood work but it wasn't so bad. If I got there around 7:45am, a half hour before Dr. Elias even arrived, then I would be among the first to be seen. Dr. Elias is there Monday-Thursday for ultrasounds for those who need them (not for every monitoring appointment). He has an ultrasound technician there on Fridays to cover for him. On weekends and holidays, I had to travel to the upper east side of Manhattan to be seen in the main hospital. Of course that is quite busy because it is a NY hospital. It's kind of like a cattle call, but I accepted it as just something that goes along with being a patient at a top notch hospital!

That's the one thing I don't remember too well!

Dr Elias is part of a large practice. Although a great doctor, his time can appear to be limited perhaps due to the large hospital system he is part of. Extremely result driven. Very uptodate on literature and ongoing trial data.

Be prepared for the industrial experience!

Dr. Elias comes across as an evidence driven Doctor. Being in the healthcare field myself this was a very valuable quality in a Doctor. He has always been respectful and tends to take calculated risks.

Good ovarian reserve detected; antagonist protocol. ICSI identified for next cycle due to MFI

The nursing staff at CRM is surprisingly nice and helpful. The waits can be very long depending on what time folks come in for monitoring but each of the nurses so far has been helpful

Likely the best in NYC. This is after being tended to at NYU, Roosevelt. Great doctors but because it's a hospital can feel like a factory at times.

The first cycle was close to 15K. Insurance helped a lot. We paid out coinsurance and deductibles.

He seemed like the only doctor who wanted me to get pregnant. He took time to read my records, redid tests that were not conclusive, explained everything to me. He made suggestions and recommendations and ultimately let me make the decision.

Listen to him. Tell him what you want.

He would site info from my records and took time with me wasn't ever rushed

EStrogen priming protocol with low stims, estrogen priming with clomid

Large facility...hard to get in touch with ur nurse.

Clinic is huge...meaning billing department doesn't care about eating back to you and nursing staff seems like they are overwhelmed

I had to pay 450 for a mock transfer and 690 for an IUI.