Victor Fujimoto

Dr. Fujimoto was very focussed on our desired outcome. There was not a lot of hand-holding or compassionate doctoring, but that was not what we were looking for. We were looking for a specific result - viable embryos free of 2 dominant serious genetic conditions, and enough embryos to potentially have more than one child. With a maternal age of 39 that is no small feat. After our first cycle failed to produce any viable embryos, Dr. Fujimoto changed protocols and the new protocol worked well for me. We were able to get our target number of embryos after 2 more cycles, for a total of 3 cycles. Dr. Fujimoto also identified and treated a septum in my uterus. His level of experience treating this condition made very confident in the results of the procedure. He was always very straightforward about the plan, risks and potential outcomes. He was sometimes blunt to a fault - once casually suggesting that we consider an IUI with donor sperm, which was kind of a bomb for my more sensitive husband. I think if someone needed a lot of cheerleading or compassion along the way, they might find Dr. Fujimoto lacking. But if you want a science-based, experienced, results focussed physician he is the real deal. I am very happy with our outcome.

Be specific with your desired outcome and listen to what Dr. Fujimoto tells you about the risks and potential approaches. He will always give you a straightforward answer. He will not communicate directly with you during your treatment cycle, but if you have a question for him ask the nurse to put you in contact with him and he will take the time to call and talk with you. Also, I saw and acupuncturist during my treatment who also served as a coach with regards to lifestyle changes. I found that very helpful because Dr. Fujimoto and UCSF don't provide much advice on that beyond a pdf handout.

I did one typical short protocol which did not produce good results. Dr. Fujimoto then switched me to a "demi-halt" protocol which does not seem very popular as far as I can tell but it worked much better for me. I used this protocol twice.

About $15,000 per cycle, not including medications and genetic testing. The FET was $4,500

We transferred one PGS normal embryo. We didn't have much discussion of this, it just seemed like the obvious best choice.

Dr. Fujimoto is just the right combination (for me) of passionate and clinical. He took plenty of time to walk through all the options for us - as number of insurance cycles and age and timing were all of the essence. He had a number of suggestions for working around insurance which I thought was really keen of him to even discuss with us. His clinical approach is clear and concise. Every time I asked a question (why didn't I get my period, is my lining supposed to be that thick? what EXACTLY does it mean that you slowed down my medications) he answered it and did not rush, was not condescending and always followed up to ensure I really understood. He does not have what I would call a "delicate" bedside manner, but a warm pat on the leg and a smile and a let's get you a baby attitude when he leaves the room just always made me feel like he was totally on my team. Like a really great little league coach that you never forget. :)

Don't be discouraged if he talks over you. It might seem rude but it's not. He is just full of information and you can see it bubble over and he just wants to share his knowledge. Just be patient and repeat yourself. I said "hold on" a number of times and he was very receptive to that.

OCP Antagonist Protocol 7/21: Cycle Day 2 - Eskyce (Birth control) 8/06: Cycle Day 17 - last active birth control pill 8/09: Baseline US 8/11: Gonal F 225, Menopur 2 vials (150 units) Continue all meds 8/15: First monitoring appointment. Reduced GF to 150 units 8/16: Start Centrotide before 11am, continue all other meds 8/21: Stopped all meds, HCG 5,000 trigger at 9:30pm 8/23: ER 19 eggs retrieved 14 fertilized 9 to PGS 1 PGS tested embryo waiting for FET October 2018. (My first cycle with a different doctor was less eggs and embryos, 2 fresh transferred that failed, and ultimately resulted in 1 PGS tested embryo frozen. Relatively same results, but who knows why those 2 fresh transfers failed.)

I paid $0 because I'm very lucky to have great insurance (at a job I hate, but hey, beggars can't be choosers). Overall: $5k FET ER: $15k Meds - depends on where you get them filled. They offer "self pay" which he said was "better than military rates".

UCSF is VERY adamant that their goal is a singleton birth. They give you a chart up front that shows age and issue and number they will transfer. In my case, I have 2 PGS embryos and he was 100% willing to do both. (My last cycle with different doctor also transferred 2 fresh, which was their standard recommendation and also on the recommendation of the lab.)

Dr. Fujimoto is very down to earth and warm and has access to the latest research. He was honest about what the research supported, and what aspects of diagnosis and treatment he simply couldn't answer (based on the research). Sometimes I had to be more proactive than I would have liked to raise different options (such as an ERA test). He also put me in the driver's seat more than I would have expected - for example, one time he asked what dose of a medication I thought I should take.

Do your own research and be prepared to ask questions -- he may not raise all issues you should consider, and he may not fully talk through issues unless you push him.

I purchased a package that cost $15,000 for one retrieval (including ICSI) and two transfers. PGS was $2775 more, and I paid about $2600 for additional tests and services. So, about $20,000 total.

I was surprised that the doctor made it sound like more of an open-ended decision -- I would have expected him to recommend eSET and educate me on the risks of multiples more strongly than he did. He did, however, recommend transferring a single embryo.

We met on my first visit with my wife present so we could start talking about what it would take for us to start a family. I come from a medical background, but a totally different field, so I knew some things, but still needed a good amount of background information and anticipatory guidance. He sat down with both of us, which I appreciated, and laid out what we could expect. He explained the blood work we'd need and the potential ancillary testing. I did feel a bit pressured to get an HSG and the genetic testing, even though neither was something I really wanted. I think it was around that point that I felt like he perhaps saw me more as a woman with infertility than a young lesbian with her wife trying to start a family. At the time, I had no such diagnosis, and had never had any sort of blood work to suggest infertility, so I was a bit taken aback when the ICD9 code associated with the visit was for Anovulatory Infertility. Later down the road, that changed, but it wasn't something that was known at the time of our initial encounter. Dr. Fujimoto was knowledgeable about the process though, and even went the extra mile to print off a recent study from a journal to show me more concrete examples of conception data in my demographic group. I remember him saying "My concern isn't getting your pregnant, it's not getting you TOO pregnant". Subsequently, I felt like my access to him was slightly guarded through his gatekeeper/assistant, who would forward my emails to her on to him.

Come in with a list of questions in advance--when directly approached, he is direct in response.

I had an elevated Anti-Muellerian Hormone and a history of irregularity, so we went with Clomid for our IUI. I took 5 days of 50mg Clomid each night (CD2-CD6). Then on CD10 I had a transvaginal ultrasound, but my dominant follicles were still too small. So we are planning for a repeat on CD13 with a tentative plan of doing a trigger HCG injection (Ovidrel) prior to IUI.

The bloodwork bill that my insurance generated for the preliminary tests (CBC, HIV, RPR, Rubella, GTT, Prolactin, FSH, Estrogen, Testosterone, Free Testosterone, Estrone, Blood type, Insulin, Glucose, LFTs, Hgb A1C, CRP, Cholesterol pannel, VZV, Androstenedione, SHBG, AMH, Estradiol, TSH) was about $6,100 plus about $300 of doctor/lab worker fees. The IUI Package was $1566 plus an additional $288 thaw fee. Each sperm vial from the sperm bank was $795. The Clomid and Ovidrel were both partially covered by my insurance, so I paid something to the tune of $40 total.

We got pregnant on the first try. But I would not attribute this to Fujimoto, rather the other people and the clinic. He was a little checked-out. But friendly. I think we saw him twice, but had probably 7 or 8 different visits. I found the residents to be FAR better than him.

Sure, use him, but don't expect much from him. You will get the value and interaction with residents and nurses.

I had MASSIVE allergic reactions to the progesterone in oil. I reported this repeatedly and no one took me seriously. They thought I was complaining about giving myself shots. In retrospect, I should have complained even more. The pre-transfer week and weeks immediately thereafter were awful. Worse than giving birth.

Strongly advocated for single transfer, which is what we wanted anyway.

We had a great experience with Dr. Fujimoto. I think he really understood our set of circumstances and put protocols together that led to success. As previously mentioned, he is a great blend of caring and candid.

I went through one Antagonist IVF cycle with Follistim, Menopur, and Ganirilex. My body responded pretty aggressively and resulted in 24 eggs and ultimately 9 five-day blasts. We transferred 2 fresh blasts, and neither took. Dr. Fujimoto encouraged us to not get too upset, as he suspected it was possible my body rejected the embryos because it was still too overwhelmed from the aggressive response to the stimulation meds. For the frozen embryo round, he added Letrozole to the protocol (studies show it helps for women with endometriosis). We transferred two embryos and one was successful.

I was lucky in that insurance covered so I was out-of-pocket relatively little.

After nearly 2 years of grueling treatment with him, without success, he told me due to advanced ovarian aging (I was 29!) I wasn't ever going to be able to carry a pregnancy with my own eggs and should consider adoption or egg donor. Luckily I went and got a second opinion (at CCRM) and thankfully they insisted to retest everything as they discovered Dr Fujimoto had completely undiagnosed a uterine septum that was causing the losses I had the few times I was able to get pregnant through the treatments. He had diagnosed me with crappy eggs and never bothered to check the uterus! CCRM fixed the septum and despite my crappy eggs, I was able to get pregnant and keep the pregnancies, and now I have 2 kids.

If you want great bedside manner, he is lovely. If you want/need anal, thorough, painfully detail oriented, I wouldn't recommend him.

I did 3 injectable IUIs, 2 IVFs. 1 IVF resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Turns out I found out through another clinic after I left UCSF I had a uterine septum that meant all those treatments (time/money/pain) were for nothing and never would have worked until the septum was fixed (which the other clinic did in a simple outpatient surgery).

Dr. Fujimoto is very knowledgeable and very experienced. He will tell you the truth and not sugarcoat it. If you present him with an option he is often willing to try it, but he tends to favor a very traditional and conservative approach.

Be proactive, and research your options.

IUI w/ clomid; IUI w/ follistim; IUI w/ Menopur; IVF w/ Menopur; mini IVF w/ clomid

I was covered through insurance so do not know the cost of care.

He seems bored and tired and perhaps ready to retire. I don't sense passion in him as an IVF patient. As a patient I didn't feel fully confident in him or his explanations of what to expect going through the process. Having been through one cycle I realize how little he shares. I felt in the dark for months.

advocate for yourself

I selected Dr Fujimoto because he dealt with infertility issues of his own. He was very matter of fact about what our options were and the results we would likely see. While in his care, and suffering many loses and obstacles, he remained a great partner in this journey. I have recommend him to others as well.

UCSF sees a LOT of patients and his team can be forgetful at times. I advice you to stay on top of him and his team. While they do great work, they do have a lot of patients, so they might forget some small details you discussed last time.

Overall a great experience. The care teams were top notch. It would have been nice to see Dr. Fujimoto for all my procedures, but he did most of the important ones (egg retrieval, transfer) and all the other doctors, nurses, and NPs that worked with me were great. My only complaint of the practice is the billing team. I had to send them multiple emails and call them multiple times before receiving responses to my questions. This happened each time I needed to reach out, so I don't think it was an anomaly.

IUI cycles were about $700 per cycle. IVF about $16k + $4k genetic testing + $1k medication (discounted for out of pocket)

I feel he did ok. He was almost too passive in his communication. My biggest issue is that he knew I had Endo but waited until the 4th year of treatment to introduce a $10 pill regime that has been proven to be a near magical pill. It was the only reason I got pregnant at all. It should have been part of a much earlier course of treatment.

Clarify at the beginning and end of an appointment or email. He has a lot of patients, don't expect them to remember you.

While the overall desired outcome was achieved, UCSF left much to be desired from an administrative standpoint. We also had one notable mishap that created unnecessary duress related to the embryo implantation

Be willing to move to IVF faster as opposed to continuing with unsuccessful cycles of IUI

He is gifted and compassionate and really really wants success. Like I said he has been through it himself and was beyond thrilled for us and our success.

Again he has been through this. He is gifted and will help if he can.

Dr.Fujimoto was encouraging, thoughtful, and thorough. At every turn, he made sure we understood potential risks. Even though we approached IVF with a sense of urgency, he was measured and took his time taking care to consider all of the facts before making a decision. It can be frustrating when you're ready to go but hurdles keep arising, but I'm grateful for Dr. Fujimoto's measured approach as we can all move forward confident that I'll have the appropriate care in pregnancy.

Take advantage of the face time you have with him. UCSF has a large practice and you'll interact with your care team more often than your doctor. Go into meetings with him informed and ready to ask any questions you may have.

Dr. Fujimoto has a preference for single embryo transfer. His goal is to help a family conceive and deliver to a healthy singleton pregnancy.

He was warm but direct. He spoke very highly about his team and did a warm handoff. He clearly and fairly explained cost and risks and benefits of options and let us decide what is best for us. Most of all, instills hope.

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He said we should be pregnant given our age and nearly 2 years of trying, so we went straight for IUI treatment plan after an ultrasound and genetic testing. We were delayed given COVID but are moving on to CLOMID + timed intercourse this month and then IUI next month.

So far, only a copay