Fertility & Surgical Associates of California

Dr. Hubert was always clear about checking in with me during appointments, next steps and procedures. When he said he would call, he kept his word and called. He advised best course of action for our treatment. He took the time to pause and answer questions. He explicitly would say that if we had further questions or needs, to not hesitate and call the office right away. I felt he was always looking out for my family’s best interest in regards to the pregnancy.

Best advice I’d give a prospective Dr. Hubert patient is to rest easy in knowing he is knowledgeable, kind and professional. Bring up your questions and concerns right away so they are addressed promptly. Ask if you have polyps! We got delayed in our treatment because polyps were found.

We used reciprocal IVF. I was on hormones to foster egg production, they extracted my eggs, fertilized them with sperm. We choose to freeze and thaw months later and transferred them into my wife so she carries the pregnancy. My wife used progesterone before and continued about 8 weeks after transfer.

Yes! He was strictly welcoming and professional. He maintained a kind and respectful demeanor when interacting with my partner and I.

About $30,000 for care and medications

Dr. Buyalos is a very good doctor in terms of experience and skill set. He’s confident in what he’s doing but absolutely open to making adjustments based on your feedback or concerns. I found him to be a partner in addition to the captain steering the ship.

If you come with questions or ideas about alternative courses of treatment, Dr. Buyalos is willing to listen and give his honest opinion on whether it’s worth trying and if not, he’ll explain why.

We did one medicated IUI with Dr. Buyalos and when that wasn’t successful (we had done one prior with another clinic) we moved on to egg retrieval and embryo transfer. We did two back to back egg retrievals using BC pills, clomid, menopur, gonal-f, omnitrope, cetrotide, and hcg 1000/lupron 20 units as trigger.

Around $10k for egg retrieval and one embryo transfer, not including cost of medications. Reduces to $8.5k for subsequent retrieval/transfers. This is the cash price but they will work with your insurance if you have coverage and they were extremely helpful in navigating whether we had coverage and how it would work.

D. Shamonki met with my husband and I for a consultation for secondary infertility after a second trimester loss. While he was very nice, he was completely unprepared for the consultation. Despite my having filled out the clinic's 15 pages of very detailed patient forms (submitted prior to the appointment), as well as having sent records from my previous OB, my D&C surgery for my miscarriage, my post-loss miscarriage and immune testing by both the OB and my rheumatologist, and the records from the fertility clinic I was planning to transfer from, he had not looked at any of it. None of it. It was clear that he hadn't even glanced at it. This is a huge red flag for me. How can I trust a provider who doesn't even glance at my information beforehand? Infertility is complex, it's not cookie cutter, and the provider has a duty to review the records before meeting the patient. My spouse and I made the decision never to go back before we'd even left the building.

If you want a provider who is going to look deeply into your situation, go elsewhere.

They will verbally tell you about the cost of certain procedures after your consultation, but you have to make a separate appointment with a financial nurse in order to receive the prices of services. Ultrasounds are $175, the actual insemination for IUI is $160, a comprehensive IVF cycle is $9900, a repeat cycle is $8900, a comprehensive FET is $4900

Dr. Shamonki is a compassionate doctor. My visit at the beginning of the cycle after my failed IUI, when he entered the room, the first thing he asked me was how was I feeling. He explains everything and takes his time to answer all our questions. He seems to be very pragmatic. He doesn’t have anything to recommend as far as supplements go. When I asked about CoQ10, he said that there is no evidence it helps with humans. He is a fact-based doctor who will not recommend anything that isn’t proven undisputedly. Which makes sense since he’s a doctor! He is hosting a webinar this week about protecting and preparing your fertility, which is great! He was going to host a fertility yoga workshop but that was canceled due to coronavirus. He never made us feel pressured to do anything. If I suggested something he was always willing to entertain or shoot me down, with explanation, depending on the situation.

If you have questions or just want the process of your treatments explained in more detail, don’t be afraid to ask questions. He is happy to answer but if you don’t ask your visits might be super brief.

Before seeing Dr. Shamonki, I had 3 losses. I did all the bloodwork with another specialist who I didn’t have treatments with. Dr. Shamonki determined our problem is unexplained infertility. His rationale for our treatments were based on the fact that we can get pregnant and we don’t have any issues that are preventing us from having a successful pregnancy aside from age. We just need to find the good egg! First round I used Clomid with timed intercourse. We didn’t jump to IUI since we know we can get pregnant. My uterine lining was a little thin so the next month I switched to Letrozole, again with timed intercourse. Then we decided to do IUI, again with Letrozole. I ovulated early so we missed the window and couldn’t do the IUI that month. So the next month we tried again, same protocol. And still no positive pregnancy test. The last month, we switched to injectables and we were going to do IUI again. However, we had to cancel that cycle due to coronavirus.

$175 for ultrasounds during treatment cycles $360 for IUI including sperm washing (I believe) $90 for progesterone blood test (I believe)

I believe he will only transfer one embryo. I haven’t done IVf so I don’t know for sure.

Dr. Buyalos is very knowledgeable and experienced. I’ve been really impressed with how accurate he’s been with numbers like number of eggs retrieved, how many day 3, day 5 and PGS normal. He makes sure that I am as comfortable as possible and he keeps me informed every step of the way. There are times when it does feel like a lot of information is given and not enough time to process, but when asked Dr. Buyalos will always clarify or explain further which I appreciate. Ultimately, I feel as though Dr.Buyalos knows his stuff and I trust my care in his hands.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! It’s a lot to take in and understand but Dr. Buyalos is the guy to educate you!

Dr. Buyalos put me on a GnRH Antagonist protocol. I started with birth control for about 5 days then started daily injections of Gonal-f (225 IU) and Menopur (150 IU). After my first monitoring appointment and bloodwork that followed my dose of Gonal-f decreased to 150IU. I was also prescribed certotide to suppress ovulation. I believe that Dr. Buyalos was trying to only be as aggressive as he needs to be-balancing optimal results and keeping me comfortable. I had 16 eggs retrieved which ultimately yielded 3 normal high grade embryos. I sometimes wonder if I would have gotten better results if we were a bit more aggressive with my protocol. I’ve been diagnosed with unexplained infertility( all tests have come back normal and good AMH). During my egg retrieval I also had an endometrial biopsy done. This was an added measure to increase transfer success.

The initial package was $9500. This covered appointments, bloodwork, retrieval, ICSI, transfer. My medications cost about $3,500 (this is with a discount rate from the clinic and relatively low doses). Extra costs were about $6500 for anesthesia, egg freezing, genetic testing, endometrial biopsy, etc.

De. Buyalos typically does single embryo transfers.

Dr. Hubert was stellar throughout the whole process. We came to him because we went through three terrible cycles with another clinic and didn't feel like we got our best shot. Dr. Hubert listened to our wants and needs, reviewed all our medical records, had me do more testing, prescribed medications, and even had his PA text him when we was unable to be in the office for one of my scans because it was his day off.

Make sure you let him know what your wants and needs are - he will definitely take them into consideration during your treatment.

Dr. Hubert looked at my testing from a previous clinic and noted that my thyroid numbers were a little high, so he initially prescribed medication to lower them. He was pleased with the results from my ultrasound, so we did one LH timed cycle with no medication. When it was not successful, I went on Clomid and injectibles for another IUI try.

Approximately $2,000 per IUI cycle

Dr. Hubert provided us with excellent care and communication. He was always available whenever we needed him and he was at every appointment (outside of when I just needed to go in and get blood drawn). He understands that this is a tough and expensive process and he would go out of his way to make sure we understood everything.

Put your trust and your faith into him and his care. He will study your unique case and adjust accordingly.

He is a very gentle and patient person, he doesn't push, but informs and let's you make the best decision for you, while recommending changes as to support best outcomes. No matter what your situation he tailors to meet your needs.

Bring a list of questions to your visits, sometimes he is very busy, as are all RE's, and just go over basics, let you know current situation and go to next patient. There were so many times I would leave and think "oh man I wonder if we could do this?" or " what happens if a, b, or c?" When I had my pre thought out questions I always felt satisfied.

The first embryo transfer we started with estrace, added progesterone supplementation by next visit, then a week later did our transfer. The next embryo transfer we did estrace only longer and started progesterone supplementation 5 days prior to transfer. My lining actually grew 0.6 more before my transfer.

The cost of using egg donor off site-$2000 FET package-$12,800 Additional Ultrasounds/labs (hcg's) post transfer-$190 Second FET-$5300

No, the research for a woman my age with minimal embryo's states safety and success weighs more on the side of the single embryo. I wanted a baby, and if my doctor said I had improved chances with a single then that's what I wanted to do.

Dr. Buyolos is compassionate, understanding and is very thorough in explaining your diagnosis and treatments. No question was a dumb question for him. He took his time with my husband and I, and really explained the process, and our diagnosis. He educated us on both IUI and IVF and while suggesting IVF first I felt that I wasn't ready for the treatment so we proceeded with IUI. Dr. B was present for the first few appointments we had but after that we did not see him often if at all. My husband and I completed 2 full rounds of IUI and the third had to be canceled. We then decided to proceed with IVF after a conversation with my OB where he stated that he felt I was wasting my time with IUI and with my diagnosis he would recommend I proceed with IVF, so I walked into the clinic and told Dr. B I was not ready for IVF. Because Dr. B had been traveling quite a bit during my first treatments I was concerned that he would not be available for our very first round of IVF however his staff informed me that he is very present during IVF and will be at every on of my appointments. It is too early to evaluate him based off my IVF round as we are just in the early stages. I am hopeful that he will be just as involved as he was in our journey at the very beginning.

I would encourage every patient to go in with a list of questions already prepared for Dr. Buyalos. My husband and I found ourselves thinking of questions after meeting him, so bring the list and go through it with Dr. B upon your first visit.

During the first IUI treatments I was on Letrozole, and Follistem, when that failed he changed me to Chlomid. After 3 failed attempts at IUI we have proceeded with IVF. We are just in the beginning stages of IVF to determine the treatment strategy that I will be placed on based off of my diagnosis.

For our IUI procedures my husband and I have not paid anything yet because we do have medical coverage that covers our IUI treatments. The only thing not covered was our medication. Every round we paid approx $300 for medication. We just placed an order for our IVF medication and have paid $3500.

He speaks well and uses drawing and diagrams to explain procedures. He explained every step of the process and took his time answering all my questions. He is gentle and I have faith that my treatment will be successful

See him sooner rather than later. Don’t hesitate and ask questions. He is very patient

I’m only starting but before I had even decided to start I was given a list of supplements and there was a medication protocol already in my file so when we did decide to proceed I didn’t have to wait at all for him to review my file and order medications. The nurse was able to do all of that for me so there was no extra wait.

They were not unreasonable and very close to estimate provided by doctor during consultation. Also cheaper than another clinic I went to for a consultation

No opinion as we are not at that stage

Dr. Hubert is very knowledgeable in his field. He is well studied and can provide insight based on his years of experience. At times he could slow down to help me understand as the current patient. But when I ask he is always willing to provide more detail. He focuses purely on medicine and i think it would be helpful to have a more holistic approach that includes diet, supplements, etc.

Definitely trust his process. Be prepared for a lot of appointments

Ovulation induction with timed intercourse to ensure my body is properly working. D&C for miscarriage. He provided many options for recovery and We chose that option. Endometriosis laparoscopy for a 3inch cyst. Moving on to ovulation induction with iui due to 3 failed cycles.

An iui costs approximately $1500-$2000 with all medication. No insurance coverage

Dr. Hubert is very professional and knowledgeable about infertility. He takes his time with his patients and does not make you feel rushed out. Dr. Hubert gives you all your options up front and will answer all you questions not matter how many or how repetitive.

He is hard to get a hold of outside of your visit if you have questions when you get home. He makes his nurses more available for those questions.

Dr. Hubert ordered all the correct blood work and an HSG before moving on to the next step. My blood work came back great but my HSG result where inconclusive because the dye did not go through one of my tubes. He gave me my options which were, laparoscopy, IUI or the most aggressive approach, IVF. He felt that because I already conceived one child naturally and because of my age, I may have had a good chance at getting pregnant with IUI. After two failed IUI's and another round of clomid failed, I asked about the surgery to possible correct the tube and he stated that because I have PCOS the results would be the same, meaning, I would most likely still need to go forward with IVF. The decision came down to how aggressive I want to be with becoming pregnant, so I have chosen to move forward with IVF.

I felt that the cost has been fair for the state of California. My insurance does not cover any infertility so I have been paying completely out of pocket.

He prefers to transfer only one but will consider multiple depending on age and health.

Dr. Hubert always answered my questions thoroughly and never made me feel dumb or like I should already know the answers to my questions. He sat down with my husband and I for multiple consultations when we had questions about what was to come next. He even gave me his cell phone number so I could get a hold of him if I had any questions. He is always extremely encouraging and confident that I am going to be a mom. I feel that Dr. Hubert is extremely knowledgeable and has a ton of experience in the field.

Ask as many questions as you can to make you feel comfortable with what your plan of action is. Don't ever feel like you can't ask questions.

1st IUI: 50mg Clomid for 5 days. 75 units Gonal F for 3 days. Triggered on Day 9. IUI Day 10. 2nd IUI: 50mg Clomid for 5 days. 75 units Gonal F for 3 days. Triggered on Day 9. IUI Day 10 and 11. 3rd IUI: 50mg Clomid for 5 days. 75 units Gonal F for 3 days. Triggered on Day 9. IUI Day 10 and 11.

Ultrasounds $150 each IUI $320 each Gonal F covered by insurance Trigger Shot $150 Clomid $20 Progesterone $20

I very first started seeing Dr. Shamonki when he was at UCLA in Westwood. At UCLA the workspace they provided to him and the amount of patients that he was given to care for was MANY. I felt that he was stressed and rushed to get to the next and the next after that. He didn't seem like that kind of person to treat patients in this kind of environment. When he moved and went to his new clinic it seemed like he was more relaxed and able to care for patients the way he thought they should be treated. I could tell his demeanor was WAY different in the new clinic. Because he was more relaxed so was I. We were able to talk more about our options. I felt that he knew what he was talking about when looking at ultrasounds and everything that I had been through previously. We never came up with a plan because financially we were not able to continue with any treatments out of insurance. However I do follow up with him all the time. He is available to me anytime just by sending a text to his cell phone.

Keep him in the loop

I didn't do an IVF cycle with Dr. Shamonki. Although I brought embryos I had frozen from another clinic to him to be transferred but chose to PGS test them before transfer

I think the costs at the clinic are relatively inexpensive compared to other clinics that I have went to.

I left another clinic because I felt like a number and wanted personal attention. From our 1st apt, he spent over an hour with us, explaining the entire process of IUI and IVF, looking over our previous test results, getting background medical history, preforming US before making any recommendations. Several times he mentioned having to change treatment plans and set up phone calls since we were over 3.5 hrs away. He adapted his schedule so we could have later apts due to our drive. I do like that Dr B preforms all US, which I've learned is not always the case. Monitoring apts are VERY quick.

Dr B is very knowledgeable and kind. He truly cares about you as a patient and wants the best outcome for you.

IVF was $9600 FET was $3600

Single embryo transfers are preferred, but Dr B allowed us to transfer 2 since they were not PGS tested. Also he commented that I had a long torso and would be able to handle twins if both embryos implanted.

Dr Shamonki is always so compassionate and loving. Always treats you like family so heartwarming. He always strives to get the best result posible. Always easy to reach and always very informative about everything. I can’t express enough about how compassionate this doctor is.

Always be an open book and honest with this Dr he is very understanding about everything. He does not judge. He helps.

All the three times I got treatment from Dr Shamonki I always did the IUI procedures. Because of financial struggles that was all we could ever really afford. I suffer from PCOS so we always did metformin first 500mg 3x day . Then I would call him on my first cycle day we would do ultrasound to check my uterine lining. To start my ovulation I was put on Femara (Letrazole) I don’t remember the dose but I was put on this medication cause it’s the one that beat helped me in the whole ovulation process. I was completely resistant to clomid when we first tried it. I did monitoring of my eggs every other day. The one time the IUI worked I actually produced 3 eggs on my left and 2 eggs on my right. I have always only produced two one side and 1 on the other. Out of all those only usually one became a good mature size. After my first ectopic pregnancy after the treatment (NOT during treatment) Dr Shamonki order that we do a Hysterosalpingogram to make sure there was no blockage of tubes , before we did another round of IUI , it was after that procedure that I got pregnant, but it had to be terminated due to viable heart beat or growth found. It was considered a chromosome abnormality. Over all I’ve had a long road with Dr. Shamonki but he has always strived in everything he has tried to do for my husband and I.

Every cycle of IUI cost us roughly about 2,000

This is something we have yet to speak about.

I can remember my first attempt of IUI and receiving a negative pregnancy test, walking into that office was heart wrenching. As I sat in the exam room with tears in my eyes, Dr. Kumar walked in and immediately sympathized with my feelings and assured me, I would get pregnant and I did 3 cycles later!! His compassion that day meant so much to me. I immediately knew, he was someone I could trust throughout the process. Unfortunately, we tried 4 years later with no success and no more money BUT I know at some point, I'll see Dr. Kumar again and he'll help get me pregnant again.

Trust him! He will not stir you in the wrong direction!!

Initatially, I started with Clomid but Dr. Kumar immediately recognized this wasn't the best approach so he had me start injections to which we saw progress in what we were achieving. Dr. Kumar monitored my progression and highered/lowered my medication based off of every scan. Clearly he knew best as he got me pregnant.

Fortunately at that time, it was covered by my insurance carrier. NOW however, the cost is absolutely ridiculous and out right unaffordable unless you are rich! I'm working/middle class and cannot afford $20-$30k for 1 cycle!! Sad because I'm longing for another child and all these doctors see is dollar signs! They take advantage of those who desperately seek a child and it breaks my heart!!

I had many experiences with many reproductive endocrinologists before I met Dr. Buyalos. He came highly recommended. He was kind and straightforward without be cruel. He is very good at explaining everything and answering all questions.

Have a list of questions ready when you see him and take notes and/or ask him if you may record your session with him.

I had high FSH since I was in my late 20s. Many REs will not want to work with patients who have this diagnosis. I went to see Dr. Check in New Jersey. I was monitored at home in Los Angeles using Dr. Check's protocol for women with high FSH by Dr. Buyalos. I became pregnant many times but had miscarriages always at about week 6. Dr. Buyalos could find no clinical reason why. I also had the same outcome with transferred embryos. Because Dr. Buyalos allowed me the chance to try with my own eggs and then to see that I had the same outcome with donor eggs made my decision to move to a surrogate easier.

I don't recall the costs, but I do remember that his costs and the costs at his clinic were lower than those at other reproductive endocrinologists' offices I saw in and near Los Angeles.

At the time (2009), Dr. Buyalos preferred to transfer multiple embryos because statistically that would give us the best chance of a good outcome. Our surrogate did become pregnant with twins on the first try. They were born at 36 weeks and were born healthy without requiring NICU time.

Dr Buyalos is compassionate and thorough and takes the time needed to explain everything involved in treatment. Although we are still in the process of receiving the results we want, we continue to only want to do treatment with Dr B

Advocate for yourself and ask a lot of questions

Dr Buyalos had me prepare for IUI by taking Clomid, Menopur injections and a trigger shot. Then after IUI I took progesterone. One of my cycles I had to add in Estrace due to thin lining. Although I have not exhibited any fertility issues, we maximized our time and money by adding the ovarian stimulation. We did not get pregnant in the 3 IUI's we did with Dr B. My husband was diagnosed with a varicocele and instead of pursuing more treatment, we decided to get his varicocele repaired since it was covered by insurance.

I paid approximately $1k per IUI

n/a

According to my experience, I did my first cycle in other clinic and my result was very bad. I have PCOS. The first cycle that I did in other clinic resulted in 25 eggs and 4 embryos, but only 1 C-grade normal embryo. I don't want to use that embryo. Then I found FSAC through online searching. After consulting Dr. B, I felt Dr. B is very experienced and explained me the process that I would do even if I had former experience. He made every efforts to help me. I think he is experienced and extremely professional. I saw the difference of my experience! It is amazing. With Dr. B's treatment, I had 35 eggs and 7 normal embryos, including 4 A grade and 3 B grade embryo! I really appreciate Dr. B!

Trust him and take his advice.

I first use the birth control pills, and gonal-F,menupur omnitriop, cetrotide I rember. Then it is egg retrieval. I retrieved 35 eggs. and 7 embryo. Later I used birth control, estrace, doxy both my husband and me, endometrin for the embryo transfer. Dr. B advised to put just 1 embryo and I just pregnant!

more than 20K

Very kind and compassionate. I recommend him to anyone. Gave very thorough info. He explained our 'issues' in detail and didn't allow us to leave until we fully udnsersyood and had no more questions.

Have questions ready

I had 2 ivf cycles. First was a successf, 2nd was not. Clomid was on first and injections for estrogen and progesterone. 2nd was progesterone suppositories and oral meds for estrogen

Appointments were usually on time. I had a few times they needed to reschedule but overall it was perfectly ok. My clinic was actually the Thousand Oaks office but it didn't give me that option.

I believe overall round 1 was about $20,000 and round 2 was about $7,000. Both round we paid cash as our insurance covers zero for ivf

He was fine with us transferring 2 each time

Dr. Hubert is very caring and thorough. He took time to talk me through the difficulty of my diagnosis. I was did not feel rushed or feel that he was pressed with time. I appreciated his consolation and was seen within a timely matter.

Not being griped by fear because Dr. Hubert and his staff are willing to help and they understand the shame and difficulty finding acceptance in our infertility.

15,000~

N/A

When I was able to speak to him he was very compassionate and caring. But he would miss phone appointments or would be too busy a lot of the time and I had to go through his nurse who would take a while to get back to me. I was scared to keep bugging them after a while as I thought that could affect my treatment t and care if I became annoying

It's not a hand holding clinic

Three week cycle to stim. No embryo glue. He prefers single transfers but will do double. Everything is done through Arlene his nurse. She makes the calendar. Not too many adjustments to the calendar after it's made. I felt I should have had another week of injections to thicken my lining instead of the 3 weeks that resulted in only 7mm upon transfer (of course or failed)

He strongly prefers set due to seeing people mc with multiple

He is incredible. I feel very lucky that he is my doctor. I'm not pregnant yet, my first transfer happened today but I feel safe and know I'm in good hands. He calls, texts or face timed me if I have questions or concerns. He even left the country two days after my egg retrieval and still texted me almost daily from China to check in on me because I had OHSS

Set realistic expectations and don't let time mess with your head. Each week you're not pregnant is so hard but try not to stress

He is very conservative and because I have so many eggs was very cautious in his approach and dosages.

$15,000

He will only transfer one embryo

I really liked him. I feel like he was upfront and honest about our options but probably pushed us into IVF when we could have tried other options. I had a complication during egg retrieval and I didn't think he addressed it appropriately afterwards

Be your own advocate