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.

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.

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!

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.

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. Ghosh was accessible through email and phone calls and checked in frequently. Not often seen in person as various doctors in the practice do procedures and exams (so it often won't be your doctor doing the procedure), but Dr. Ghosh made a point to follow up via phone/email within a few days of each procedure. She listened to our concerns and preferences and worked with us to make this experience go as smoothly as possible.

Meeting in-person or via Telehealth doesn't happen as frequently as phone check-ins/email correspondences, so take the time during those calls to have both partners present (if two partners are involved) and have questions ready.

Dr. Ghosh discussed several options with us, being realistic about which options would be most successful in our individual case. She supported our choices in preferring to try natural versus medicated cycles for transfers, explaining this would require more frequent visits and monitoring.

Cost of treatment were high but mostly covered under fertility benefits. There was often confusion over whether regular or fertility insurance would cover costs which meant a lot of time on the phone/emailing each insurance provider/offices to correct/figure out coverage.

We were originally interested in multiple embryo transfer but age and other factors indicated that this was not an option for our individual case at the current time.

Dr. McConnell is an educated and sincerely wonderful doctor. I am so glad that I was referred to her to help me conceive. She was able to help me through the process even though I had a few hiccups on the way. She went above and beyond to speak to the insurance companies and explain my situation. It was great to have her in my corner knowing she was also fighting for me. She really is a miracle worker. I know everyone is different but I have had a few friends who have done treatments with other doctors for years. I was so worried going into this but I was pregnant in under a year. I am so thankful to Dr McConnell and her wonderful staff.

Follow the instructions given to you and be patient. Dr. Mcconnell and her team have everything covered. You do not need to remind them of anything.

I did a frozen egg transfer because of complications after the egg retrieval. I was glad I had to recover after the egg retrieval. I felt like my body needed it.

Monitoring appointments worked great for me. They were scheduled from 7am-10am. I was able to go before work and get to work early. They were usually quick appointments ranging from 15-30mins total. Only ran late a few times when Dr Mcconnell was not in or the computers were down. But I was still at work on time. Never had to take off or come in late which was great because I had to go 3-4x a week sometimes.

I only paid copays

I chose to only have one embryo transfered and Dr McConnell agreed due to medical reasons.

I believe one of Doctor McConnell’s biggest strength is how humble she is. It is very easy to speak to her. She made me feel comfortable. She didn’t make me feel awful about my body. She didn’t question why I wanted more children. She simply listened to what my goal was and decided on the best treatment for me. I read somewhere online that she is an assistant Professor at Columbia. That was a decisive point for me. Anyone who is smart enough to teach other future Doctors can be my Doctor any day! The biggest plus in my book is that she was very understanding about my weight. I never felt like she was looking down on me or wondering how I gained so much weight. She put me on Metformin, and I lost almost 30 pounds. I have had bad experiences with other Doctors making me feel depressed about my body, but Dr. McConnell was so kind. I had two IUI’s that failed. With every IUI, my husband’s sperm count was lower and lower so we went to a urologist who found nothing wrong. However, Dr. McConnell did her own tests on my husband and found he had some kind of sperm infection. He was placed on medication and we moved on to IVF with ICSI after that. The injections for the egg retrieval are no joke ladies. I felt horrible. I had acne everywhere, and felt bloated, and nauseous. During this course of medication Dr. McConnell always contacted me or her team would contact me to share what my results were. I had asked the Doctor to do a fresh embryo transfer, but I had such a large number of eggs retrieved that she called me to say I would need a freeze all cycle. I felt a bit bummed out but looking back, if the Doctor wouldn’t have made that decision for me I probably would’ve had a huge medical problem with OHSS. Thankfully she was always on top of my treatment. I read some of the other reviews about communication with this Doctor. I happen to think the clinic has a good flow, and a good team in place. The Doctor always reviewed my test results, called me when there was anything she needed me to know, and when it came to routine things, her team would email or call me. I didn’t find anything wrong with this. Also, out of respect for the Doctor, I would always email her nurses, and let them get back to me throughout the day with the Doctor’s answer. This is just something that I prefer to do when a Doctor has a team in place, but every patient is different. I managed to get pregnant with twins on my first frozen embryo transfer! I did have another Doctor from the clinic do my embryo transfer. But, all those Doctors work together as a team. My embryo transfer was done by Doctor Turocy. I felt great! There was no pain before or after the procedure. It’s going to sound a little odd, but my favorite part about the embryo transfer was meeting the embryologist! Meeting him was great! There was something about seeing the person who was up close and personal with my future babies that made me so happy!

For any future patients I would say, have patience with your treatment. I was so frustrated with all the blood work and uterine tests I had to do at first because I just wanted to get it over with and be pregnant. There were also times where I kept thinking, “I think the Doctor doesn’t realize I am too heavy for such low dosages”. But, at the end the dosages she had me on were perfect for me. And if I already felt sick with such low dosages, I can’t even imagine doing it my way with all the pills I wanted to take to just get it over with! This Doctor works in a team, and has help from a lot of wonderful people that schedule her appointments, and help her with sonograms, and emails, and calls, etc. If that’s not what you are looking for than this is not the place for you. I happen to love it because there was always a support person around. They have an emergency line you can call after hours. I used it once, and a Doctor called me back in 5 minutes. So it’s a give and take. With this Doctor you will have support 24 hours a day. I liked that because it was my first time needing fertility treatments so I didn’t know what to expect. And the cherry on top…the Columbia website saids Doctor McConnell is a also one of their professors. So, obviously she knows what she is doing.

I did two IUI’s with Letrozole and Gonal F for trigger shot. I wasn’t ovulating and she diagnosed me with PCOS. Aside from that, she started me on Metformin a few months before The first IUI. I believe I had two follicles for both the IUI’s, but it was later discovered that my husband had a sperm infection so neither of my IUI’s worked. The sperm infection was discovered with a culture that is not part of the semen analysis. After his treatment, we moved on to IVF with ICSI. My insurance approved the ICSI because the infection had caused a huge drop in my husband’s sperm count. For my IVF cycle, I had 21 eggs retrieved. The Doctor said there were more but were extremely difficult to get to so they were left behind. The egg retrieval for me was extremely painful. The Doctor explained that my ovaries are further up in my body so they are difficult to get to. They had to press down to try to see the eggs and get to them. They tried for a long time and they tried hard to get all the eggs. But, I ended up with 21, which is still a good number. 19 of those were mature, 17 fertilized, and I got 12 Blastocyst. That was a freeze all cycle. Doctor McConnell decided on a freeze all to give my body time to recover and reduce my chances of OHSS. Doctor Turocy did my embryo transfer. She said I had some very high quality embryos. Overall, I am very happy with the outcome. I am currently 9 weeks pregnant with twins!

My monitoring appointments were in the morning hours. Usually between 7 and 9am. I would only see a few females every time I was there. They are very efficient because I would only wait about five minutes and sometimes nothing at all.

My costs were just my 30 dollar co-pay. My insurance covered my IUI’s, my IVF cycle and all my medication.

Doctor McConnell allowed me to transfer two embryos because of my age. They both stuck!

She was great from day one. Took the time to explain everything from the beginning. Always was super responsive and compassionate. Even called after hours to answers questions I had. Also made me feel super comfortable!

To make sure you ask questions

Prior to egg retrieval Gonal-F 900 unit- 3 pens Menopur 75 unit- 20 vials Cetrotide 0.25mg- 8 Kits Novarel 5,000 unit- 2 vials Leuprolide Trigger- 1 kit Then for tranfers and after estrace twice a day and progesterone injection every evening

Front desk staff and nurses were all super friendly. All the doctors were wonderful. I never waited in the waiting room for more than five minutes even the few times I was late because of traffic.

My insurance covered my treatment expect the genetic testing which we paid about 2500 for