Zev Rosenwaks

I don’t even know where to start... we’ve done two cycles with him, just finished the egg second egg retrieval. He is nothing short of brilliant, thoughtful, and compassionate. I broke down and started crying when I spoke with him over the phone when he mentioned the possibility of a second cycle... he was kind and referred me to his main administrative assistant who ended up finding significant financial assistance for us. He was also in constant contact with my husband and me after I experienced a rare reaction to progesterone injections. All this in the setting of living 3-4 hours away from the clinic. The only downside is he is not a great communicator... does not always tell you what he’s thinking or why, had some issues with calls back regarding a plan moving forward.

While he is not very delicate in his approach to care, know he cares, is always working for the good of his patients, and is at the top of his practice with respect to his approach to treatment.

While Dr. Rosenwaks is quite blunt and not very delicate, you can tell how much passion he has for his work and you as a patient. The first day we met him (initial consultation) he spent more than hour with my husband and me, discussing our history, personally doing a physical exam, and even took a photo of my husband and me (presumably to put faces to the names). We were very impressed with all of this.

First cycle - Follistim, Menopur, Ganirelix added in towards the end as the antagonist. Hcg trigger shot was 10,000 units. 14 eggs retrieved, 10 mature, 9 fertilized with ICSI. 1 early blastocyst transferred day 5, negative pregnancy test. Others were multinucleated and did not even approach the blastocyst stage. Trigger shot was done a little early based previous failed cycles with a different clinic, which produced no blastocysts between 2 cycles. Second cycle - clomid for five days total, after three days started follistim and menopur. Added cetrotide in after a few days. Hcg was 10000 units again. Had egg retrieval today, sounds like 10 eggs but won’t know until tomorrow how many, maturity, fertilization results. Not sure why the clomid first, other than I was using all donated medications and this is very inexpensive.

The second nurse, Katia, as well as her other colleagues were extremely compassionate and kind. Devon (who I believe does not work there anymore) was quite cold, it appeared, and lacked the compassion shown by others.

Strengths - physicians are making decisions as a team, excellent team based approach between the doctors and the nurses. Compassion and going above and beyond by all members of the care team, especially Shannon C. and Waleska P. Weaknesses - there were a few times when we felt like they dropped the ball during our first cycle. For instance, when I met with the nurse to review the IVF instructions, she mentioned consent forms and a packet/folder... we never got those though were supposed to have gotten them when checking in for the first daily monitoring appointment. Communication after cycle failure with our doctor was not great, he would say he’d need to ask the embryologists to review everything and he would really need to think about it, but did not call back with any updates. Two weeks later I finally emailed asking for an update, which was met with apologies for the late responses. Things a new patient would want to know - it may be busy/crowded (which was how I felt when I walked into the clinic for monitoring the first time), but they are generally a well-run clinic. Dr. Rosenwaks might not be cheery or delicate, but he is kind, compassionate, and great at what he does.

Some days were very busy and four of us would be called at a time and placed into rooms one by one. Other times, it was not that busy and one 1 or 2 would be called at a time. Sometimes you do bloodwork first, sometimes ultrasound first. There is a window from 6:30-8:30 am to get the monitoring done, so you show up and check in with the front desk sometime between those hours.

Since our insurance did not cover ANYTHING related to ART, we estimated the whole thing (IVF cycle, retrieval and hospital fees, parking, medications etc.) put us close to $25,000. We also live 3-4 hours away so would sometimes stay overnight, which also added to that cost.

Generally I think he prefers single embryo transfers, at least in younger patients. Other than that, we never had more than one so that wasn’t really applicable or discussed.

Dr Rosenwaks is not warm or bubbly, but he is a GENIUS. He knows the science and art of fertility. I did always feel like I was in the absolute best of hands. I never doubted, IF he would successfully get me pregnant, it was just a matter of time. He definitely is not forthcoming when it comes to providing information and a treatment plan, he only provides bits and pieces as time goes along, I think that is the case because he really studies you as a patient and makes decisions as things progress and he makes adjustments accordingly. I would definitely be going back for future pregnancy help.

I would tell a future patient to not expect that Dr Rosenwaks would "hold your hand" through the process and as hard as it is just to just simply trust him. He really does have the patients safety and interest first. He will get the job done.

When we had our initial consultation, he really seemed invested and studied my husband and I. He asked a lot of questions and asked us to elaborate and get specific relevant details related to family history. I vividly remember him sitting in our first consultation for a solid hour and he seemed truly invested in the cause, you could see the wheels spinning in his mind.

Dr Rosenwaks definitely wanted to start as least invasive as possible, we started with a very low dose of clomid for stimulation and an IUI. His ultimate goal is a healthy singleton pregnancy. The first clomid + iui produced a chemical pregnancy...though I was devastated, he was thrilled because it proved I could get pregnant. We attempted the same a 2nd round and it was a negative test. After that, I pleaded to start IVF because I knew that would more likely be successful and I was impatient. He was on board and he gave me extremely low doses of the stimulation drugs to prevent on complications. He is very cautious. My first IVF cycle was very successful--I have a healthy singleton live birth and 5 frozen day 5 embryos that are reported "excellent quality."

She was absolutely amazing, I communicated with her several times a day via e-mail. She was always warm and honest. She did the "hand holding" which I GREATLY appreciated. I hope to work with her again.

It sometimes did feel like a factory, but everything was well organized and efficient. I found going for monitoring right when the opened allowed me to very rarely wait any great length of time. My husband did have to wait to give his sample. The staff including the receptionists and medical assistants were also very warm.

I always went right at opening so I did not have to wait. I needed to be there early to make it to work on time. The line was very long on weekends and later in the morning, this was not an issue for me though because I was there at the earliest possible minute.

Everything was out of pocket, Dr Rosenwaks does not accept insurance. All procedures were attempted to be billed to insurance, though I had minimal coverage.

I know Dr Rosenwaks much prefers a single transfer as he feels that is safest for baby and mom. I pleaded for multiple and he was adamant for a single, and fortunately for me it worked out.

I am still going through the process so I can't detail my experience in full but everything so far has been positive. He is efficient in his testing procedures and had requested a lot of different tests than my previous clinic. This made me feel more confident in his skills than my previous doctor. He is also prescribing a different method of treatment for my next cycle which makes me feel like he is more thoughtful in his approach rather than just out to get our money by suggesting the most expensive option.

Know that you might not always see him for each visit. I have seen him most visits but he has not performed all the procedures, like the HSG. However, the other doctor I have seen has always been consistent so I do not feel like I'm rotating through the whole clinic.

He took the time to explain the results of my tests to help me understand them. He was very thorough in all his testing.

We are just beginning my IUI cycle. It's going to be an IUI with Clomid. I do not yet know the dose. The pretesting has involved: A complete work up of blood tests 2 semen analysis for my husband Several vaginal ultrasounds An HSG ( no balloon method) A saline ultrasound

She is not a nurse but a coordinator for Dr Rosenwaks. She has been helpful with scheduling.

Efficient clinic; I am usually seen within 10 minutes of checking in for my appointment Some patients might feel like it's a revolving door because there are usually several people waiting

He does not accept any insurance

This has not yet been discussed because we are trying IUI first

I 100% attribute Zev to the birth of my daughter. He is not a doctor who will hold your hand or be your best friend. He is all business, all the time. A very serious guy. But thats what I wanted. Didnt care about bedside mannor or a nice doctor. I wanted to have a baby and he made that happen. But have a thick skin going to him. Also, he does not call back for most questions. And doesnt call back same day. He is really only going to pay attention when you are doing a cylce with him. The rest of the time expect to communicate with nurses.

Trust he is on top of your case and dont expect any hand holding.

Zev is a man of few words, but when he speaks, everyone listens. He does not over promise, and is very direct. After my first cycle with him that resulted in a miscarriage, Zev did all my morning monitoring himself, even came in on a weekend. When I came in for my beta, he was waiting for me and personally walked me to get my blood drawn. I feel like this is pretty rare, and even if he is not present all the time, he is studying your case.

Round 1 ivf - freeze all, pgs. Then FET with two embryos. Resulted in miscarriage at 8 weeks. Round 2 ivf - clomed priming protocol. Day 3 fresh transfer. Live birth.

The nurses are all good. They will call back and are much easier to get in touch with than doctors. My first cycle I had Hunter who was great. She then left Cornell and I had several nurses during my second cycle. It did not really bother me - I got the call every day about meds and did not feel like my care was compromised bec I know Zev was closely managing everything.

Cornell is a very busy clinic and a wekl oiled macbine. You will not see the same doc for monitoring each morning and your dr will most likely not be doing your proceedures. This is not a clinic for hand holding. However they are the best at what they do. At first it bothered me they were not more progressive, but in the end their way worked for me.

Busy cattle call. Takes an hour sometimes.

He does not take insurance. Appointments were $200-$500. Ivf was $12k plus additional for icsi, pgs, etc.

I always transfered two embroys.

I went to Dr Rosenwaks after hearing countless stories about his success in treating patients who had suffered failures with other doctors. He presents as the deeply experienced, obsessive practitioner he is. He is the best kind of Doctor: confident, process-oriented, curious, and dedicated to helping patients achieve their goals. He has seen it all, and that gave me confidence that if I put myself in his care, I would get pregnant. He was there for me whenever I needed him, puzzling through scenarios and cracking my code. After a failed transfer, his nurse told me he took my records home to have time to quietly reflect and be sure he hadn't missed anything. He hadn't, we proceeded, and I was pregnant on the next try. He is a consummate professional, so he won't cry with you, but if and when you need that, you can lean on his amazing staff of nurses and the incomparable practice head, Wally. I wanted the most experienced, smartest, devoted, results-oriented Doctor I could find and Dr Rosenwaks is absolutely that.

Trust in his experience and in the process. Be patient and know that his success rates are among the best in the world and you will get there if you stay the course.

Dr Rosenwaks is passionate about helping his patients create their families. He is a legend in his profession but still treats every new patient with focus, determination, and compassion. I felt he was extremely invested in my care and his entire staff felt like family to me by the end of the ivf process.

I previously froze eggs at another practice using the same follistim/gonal f/menopur combo protocol from a day 2 start. However, Dr Rosenwaks took a more judicious approach to medicating me, which made the process much easier and produced exactly the result he wanted (15 eggs retrieved, 12 isci embryos, 10 day 5 blastocysts, 5 embryos normal after pre genetic testing). Because I was not overstimulated by Dr Rosenwaks, the entire retrieval process was easier and recovery was much faster.

They are fantastic. Total pros and so invested in your care. They are there for you 24/7.

Because it's the best, it is a busy practice. The good news is that every doctor, nurse, and fellow you see in your process is an elite practitioner. They are all truly excellent. The wait for blood work can be long if you come later in the morning, but again, it's a function of a popular practice.

15 to 20k with pgs and icsi, partially covered by insurance.

Dr. Rosenwaks is very thorough and requires all exams/testing be done there as he really wants accurate info. He always communicated with me directly including calling me on my cell phone when we needed to make an urgent decision.

You can trust him to do the best for you. Cornell is a well run clinic and he is a top notch Doctor.

Dr. Rosenwaks takes the time to talk to me realistically, but compassionately. He is honest about my chances, but never puts me down for wanting to continue to try.

We used an antagonist protocol with 20 eggs retrieved, 16 mature, 12 fertilized, 5 day 5 embryos (my previous doc said my embryos would not make it to day 5)

She was excellent at answering my questions and getting me my results.

I don't think this clinic has weaknesses. It is efficiently run. All testing/pgs is done in house. Nether embryology is great. Sometimes hard to get someone on the phone initially, but once you are assigned a nurse, email communication is great/fast.

Monitoring is very efficient. You come sign in during the window. They call you by when you signed in. You are in and out very quickly.

$19,000 for ivf with monitoring, ICSI and PGS

Hard to talk to but extremely smart.

Don't expect compassion, he will not hold your hand

He doesn't answer questions to a patients understanding but gets the job done

Patch, gonal, menopur and ganerelix

When Kristen called with good news you heard her genuinely happy for us and she cried years of joy when speaking to her the first time after a positive test. When I called to schedule an appointment for my next cycle she insisted I bring my baby that she must meet him and was excited to hear back from me that I was starting again

Very busy

I have insurance that covers 2/3 of my cycle

Dr Rosenwaks explained everything & he made me feel better when I got emotional. He’s not all smiles & warm & fuzzy. I had Doctors like that but I didn’t get pregnant. Dr Rosenwaks just makes sure that you get pregnant. He’s very knowledgeable & is highly competent in every aspect or reproductive medicine.

Please be patient, hormones make you emotional. Just pray or do meditation to get relaxed. Have faith & trust in your doctor. He’ll make it happen.

Dr Zev Rosenwaks is a quiet man but a genius that knows what he’s doing and gave me my three children. He gets the job done. He’s amazing, he’s a genius! My twins are 16 & my oldest is 19 and I so blessed to be their mother. I thank God & Dr Rosenwaks. I tried at other facilities in Long Island and it didn’t work. I’m so grateful that my sister-in-law was working at Weill Cornell at the time & she referred me. It was a hard, emotional time (hormones were all out of whack) but that’s a distance memory! I can’t go by the hospital without getting emotional and feeling a warm, happy feeling if joy.

They were great & knew how to deal with all types of patients. They took it all in & responded with compassion & patience.

Only strengths, it’s great! Like I said, I’ve been to 3 others, none compared or came close! They were professional, compassionate, organized & so well-run. I was able to go in early am & able to get to work on time.

It was about $10k with our first son but then insurance covered more so our twins were about $5k but that was 15 & 20 years ago. You can’t put a price tag in the miracle of a child .... you just can’t.

Dr Rosenwaks transferred the current amount of embryos that would take and produce a liable pregnancy.