Sergio Oehninger

Dr. O has a long history of success in the field, and decades of experience which began working directly under the doctor who pioneered IVF in the US. He excells at giving informed, detailed comparisons between different established treatment options. Our discussions led us first to try 4 rounds of IUI, the first 3 each leading to a very early miscarriage, and the last failing to develop a viable egg. Between attempts, he was very hands-off. We had to initiate the next step on our own when some encouragement would have been helpful. When we had consultations to determine the next course of actions, he didn't always seem as familiar with our treatment history as I would have liked. After the unsuccessful IUIs, we asked again about the clinic's donor embryo program which had been briefly discussed in our first visit, and decided it was the next best step. After being matched with a frozen embryo suprisingly quickly and completing other prequisites of the program, Dr. O implanted the one embryo which survived the thaw. The first couple weeks of pregnancy progressed normally, but after some minor bleeding we were brought in for an early ultrasound and the dosage of progesterone injections was doubled as a precaution. However, there was additional bleeding and discharge a couple weeks later, and another ultrasound showed the pregnancy was lost. At that point, Dr. O was careful not to give us any false hope as we scheduled addtional follow-ups. However, he did not prepare us for the extremely unpleasant and painful side effects of the medications to induce completion of the miscarriage. That experience culminated in a 2am emergency room visit, narcotics to manage the pain, and another ultrasound the next morning when the clinic was open. After this last visit, Dr. O retired and we expect to be transferred to one of his colleagues, most of whom we met at one point or another.

Not applicable since he is now retired.

We tried 4 rounds of IUI, the first 3 each leading to a very early miscarriage, and the last failing to develop a viable egg. Since my wife has never had regular cycles, medication was needed to trigger it each time. Each time there were one or two visits to ultrasound the ovaries and measure follicles before a viable one was identified and our IUI was scheduled. Semen analysis showed slightly low count each time but good motility. Every completed IUI let to a positive home pregnancy test, followed within days by a negative test. Due to the repeated failures of IUI, we decided that implanting a donated embryo was the next best option. After being matched with a frozen embryo suprisingly quickly and completing other prequisites of the program, Dr. O implanted the one embryo which survived the thaw. The first couple weeks of pregnancy progressed normally, but after some minor bleeding we were brought in for an early ultrasound and the dosage of progesterone injections was doubled as a precaution. However, there was additional bleeding and discharge a couple weeks later, and another ultrasound showed the pregnancy was lost. At that point, Dr. O was careful not to give us any false hope as we scheduled addtional follow-ups. However, he did not prepare us for the extremely unpleasant and painful side effects of the medications to induce completion of the miscarriage. That experience culminated in a 2am emergency room visit, narcotics to manage the pain, and another ultrasound the next morning when the clinic was open. After this last visit, Dr. O retired and we expect to be transferred to one of his colleagues, most of whom we met at one point or another.

Roughly $15,000 for 4 IUI attempts, donor embryo program and transfer, medication, and associated tests.

We were very confused by apparently conflicting information about the number of frozen donated embroys available to us for implantation, and how many survived which stages of the process. This was eventually mostly cleared up, but it took several discussions with different people. However, the clinic policy of not allowing more than two embryos to be implanted was always clear.

We we're diagnosed through Dr. O and Dr. Brough with azoospermia/male factor infertility. Upon receiving that diagnosis, my husband and I took break for several months before jumping in to treatment. When we ordered our donor sperm and got started with treatment, I don't think my file was reevaluated or not. We jumped right in to three natural IUI cycles , the first of which resulted in a chemical pregnancy. After that, we did two more cycles with letrozole and trigger. Every time I went for ultrasounds, everything looked great. When we had our last meeting before going in for our sixth and final IUI, Dr. O seemed to brush off any of my concerns and requests doe further testing on me to see if there was anything that we could address easily before the next go. It wasn't until after I stopped going to Dr. O that we discovered my blood pressure was significantly above normal range and that my T4 levels were way off normal range, as well. We are happy with our new doctor and wish Dr. O all of the best, but he was not the right fit for us.

Ask questions. ALWAYS. Ask for copies of all of your test results and research on your end that you are within normal ranges.

3 natural IUI cycles with donor sperm with monitoring on day 12. (The first of those three resulted in a chemical pregnancy) 2 donor sperm IUI cycles with 5 days of letrozole 5mg per day, trigger shot, and 10 days of progesterone.

$250/IUI plus drug costs

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Dr. Oehninger answered all questions that I had for him. During my stimulation cycle at appointments where I saw him quickly for an ultrasound there were always other doctors in the room and he let them take the lead and explain to me although it seemed he was the one making the decisions. When it was one on one during the consultation I felt that this Dr. was more personable and shared his experience and expertise with me regarding what I should do next.

He has a quiet and serious demeanor. If you have questions ask them

During my IVF cycle I took Follistim, menopur and ganirelix. After the transfer I was on progesterone oil injections and estrogen patches. During this cycle they found that I have 2 endometrioma cysts. This protocol resulted in 5 eggs retrieved, 4 fertilized and 2 being transferred.

Dr. Oehninger is a very competent physician. We initially liked him because of his bluntness about the procedures and statistical chances of having a child. As days went past during our cycle, it seemed as if we heard less and less from him. He was not available in at least two of our ultrasounds, which to us was a very important time to speak to us. The other physicians conducting the ultrasound screening were not up to date with our progress. Dr Oehninger was not there for our egg retrieval which was very disappointing.

Don't expect coddling. He is very thorough in procedural explanation but definitely do research and ask questions.

We used an antagonistic approach

We went with a single cycle option. There was an available shared risk program that was double for a single cycle.

Multiple embryo transfer was explained to us. The Jones institute protocol was to transfer up to two embryos only.

I went into our IVF cycle expecting to be seen by Dr. Oehninger, as our assigned RE. I had really appreciated how much time and information he gave us at our consultation visits and looked forward to him being involved in my care. However, I didn't see him much during the monitoring cycle. Even when I did, a training doctor performed the actual ultrasound. The Jones Institute is part of EVMS so you can expect extra sets of hands and eyes in the room in most cases. My egg retrieval and subsequent transfer were both performed by another member of the practice. When my beta was negative, I would've liked to receive a call from Dr. Oehninger since he was my main RE. Instead, the RE who actually performed my transfer called.

Do your own research so you can keep up with him in conversations. He won't slow down to explain the basics for you automatically so educate yourself beforehand. Also, be prepared to not see him during your course of treatment as it just depends on the REs schedules.

I was given a standard antagonist protocol following three weeks of birth control. Despite great ultrasound monitoring results leading up to retrieval, the majority of my follicles didn't produce an egg at retrieval.

The baseline package was $11,500. Meds are of course purchased through a third party pharmacy, but the IVF coordinator really helped us out by telling us about a discount program we were able to apply for.

Had we had two viable embryos, Dr. O had planned to transfer two.

Dr. Oehninger is extremely experienced and intelligent in his field. He is a little rough around the edges as far as bedside manner goes... meaning he is very cut and dry with giving you information and does not sugarcoat it at all. In some instances this worked very well for us because we wanted to get the show on the road but at other times we really kind of needed someone to talk to and we felt rushed. Overall though he is extremely professional, very respectful and you can tell that he truly has our best interest at heart .

Definitely take his advice because he certainly knows what he's talking about however take the time to prepare for appointments and write your questions down before hand otherwise you may forget with how fast he moves through protocol. Definitely be your own advocate. Lastly, don't take his abruptness to heart. Although he may move through appointments quickly he really does care about your success and will remember your quarks and situation dencently well.

We first went to Jones Institute after trying naturally for over a year. The first thing we were instructed to do was a sperm analysis due to the fact that this was cheaper than any female test. That report came back abnormal with extremely low sperm counts and due to the fact that I had regular cycles he encouraged us to move straight forward with IVF. We were unsuccessful and the ratio of eggs retrieved to five day embryo survival was very weak. He noted this in our plan and then encouraged us to save our money and really think hard about sperm donation. We took his advice and started our IUI treatments after that, we got pregnant on the first try. In the process of purchasing donor sperm doctor on anger did a great job referring us to a bank, answering all of our questions, helping us through genetic testing, and giving us advice on the emotional journey of choosing a donor.

IVF - $12000 IVF Meds - $4500 IUI - $265 Donor Sperm Storage - ~$300ish per year

I felt like I was with a professional. I knew he understood the best practices and procedures and explained everything to me. I wouldn't say he was high on the compassion scale, but it didn't matter as much to me if going through IVF with him meant a successful pregnancy. He was always straightforward and honest, and he made jokes to help lighten the mood sometimes. I enjoyed my experience.

If you want to achieve a pregnancy, use Dr O. If you're looking for lots of warm and fuzzies during the process, he may not be your doc.

We did IVF, retrieved 13 eggs, and 8 became embryos. We had 3 amazing Day 5 blastocysts, and we chose to transfer 1. Even though there as higher chances to conceive with transferring more than 1, we felt confident with a single embryo transfer and he believed and supported our decision.

I know it was around $20k for IVF plus medication and ICSI plus we had a few other costs that drove up our overall price. In the end it was all worth it!!

He supported our decision for a eSET.

I liked that my Dr. was the director of the top program in the area but with that I felt a disconnect from him at times. Luckily there were other Doctors on staff to pick up slack where his was lacking.

Be tough on the things that are important to you to make sure your voice is heard and that you don't get lost in the crowd.

He was very educational, and passionate about what he does. He tells you upfront what to expect throughout the treatments. I felt very comfortable going through our IVF cycles with him. He always explained everything throughouly during our sessions with him. He said ‘ let’s make it happen’ and it sure did! We finally got pregnant with twin girls ! It was such a blessing going to the Jones Institute. I would love to go back there to see him for our third child.

He knows his stuff !

2nd IVf fresh cycle - he didn’t stimulate a much to get better quality eggs!

We did a shared risk payment plan. They were very upfront about the cost for everything . They would bill us in an ample amount of time !

I feel as that multiple embryo transfer was right for us . Higher chances of one embryo sticking !!

We really loved him right from the start. Our experience was amazing and everything happened exactly as it was explained to us. We appreciated how direct and honest he was and knowing what to expect. His predictions and diagnosis were spot on.

Don't wait. Just do it. I think he is retiring, but Dr. Bocca is awesome too.

I had a very typical cycle. Follicle stimulation to produce eggs, retrieval, ICSI for insemination with my husband's sperm (male factor infertility, several viable embryos, two embryos transferred, single embryo implantation, single, healthy live birth. ONE CYCLE SUCCESS!!!

There were different charges like OR fees, General IVF fees, extra charge for ICSI and medications (about $4,000) that all added up. In total, about $12,000, and I also have 3 frozen embryos they store for $60/month. It will eliminate a large part of the process when we try to have another child.

Dr. O transferred 2 embryos for the first cycle, but after a successful singleton birth recommends strongly only having one transferred for our second child, unless we want twins

Sergio is a doctor that knows the science behind everything and had studied fertility for a long time. He is friendly and approachable but he spends little time with his patients on a one on one basis. Perhaps he is busy or he could also just be awkward at times.

Pay attention to your egg retrieval stats early on - he may overlook certain things.

I used birth control and estrogen to prepare for embryo transfer and then began progesterone as well.

Unsure but over $10k

No comments

During my time with Dr O. He was very personable and I found him matter of fact and although resistant to my research he did listen to me and never belittled me. He wanted us to be successful and when things failed he was affected.

Be prepared for a very busy man whose time is sought after

HSG, polyp removal, lab testing, dye test, endometrial biopsies, ERA

I have spent over probably 80 thousand dollars trying to have a family

We never disused 1 versus 2 due to my age.

I only saw Dr. Oehninger the first appointment for consultation and then we he canceled my cycle, all other times the staff would rotate. The staff is very friendly and compassionate. I did not feel he would know who I was if someone were to ask him.

I would suggest seeing another physician in that clinic if you go to Jones.

We used menopur and gonal-f, omnitrope. He primed my with 2 weeks of OCP.

The cost was approx. 15,000 without cost of medications.

They recommended singleton for transfer.

I appreciated Dr Os commitment to my treatment. He laid out a very clear plan and took immediate action. Good sense of humor. Sometimes a little difficult to understand due to accent.

Make an appointment immediately.

I went to Dr. O and SIRM after having 3 retrievals and 5 failed embryo transfers at Cornell. My last two transfers were FET with PGS normal embryos which failed. My RE at Cornell (Samantha Pfeifer) did not believe in testing for Natural Killer Cells, immunological issues or other "out of the box issues" so I sought another opinion. During my consultation with Dr. O he explained what tests he recommended and why, and what the course of action would be. I did a multititude of tests that Cornell did not check for: bloodwork including NKa testing, an endometrial biopsy to test for inflammation (endometritis) and the Receptiva test to test for endometriosis. My husband also did a sperm analysis and DNA fragmentation test. (Cornell also did not recommend the DNA fragmentation test.) All results were normal except I had elevated NKa (25% vs the normal level of 10%). The treatment for this will involve presnidone and possibly intalipid therapy.

I have not yet begun treatment, only diagnostic testing. Will update this as I advance through treatment.

$50 to reserve consultation (can be applied to treatment), $50 for sperm analysis, $815 payable directly to Recepitva for endometrial biopsy testing for endometriosis. Other costs were covered by insurance.

Thick accent made it hard to understand at times, very to the point not a lot of time for questions. Explained what we were doing that day, but not a lot of details on future options, just vague timeline

Choose another, but I think he’s retire now

Femerra used with ultrasound checks, found hemmoraging cyst and halted further injection until cyst cleared

Consult and ultrasound in the $250 range, second ultrasound and meds + appt in the $400 range

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