Dr. Zacur clearly cares about his patients and goes out of his way to be available to his patients instead of letting the on-call/covering doctor in the practice handle things whenever possible. I suffered a miscarriage while under his care and the level of compassion he showed was amazing...Even though he is an older doctor with many years of experience, he is knowledgeable about most current research and standards of practice.
The nursing staff [at Johns Hopkins] are extremely efficient and reliable. I've had every question or request attended to promptly. The IVF classes taught by the nurses are so helpful...An IVF cycle not including medication costs about $11,000. A frozen embryo transfer is about half the cost of a full cycle. ..Ultrasounds and labs are done every day on a first come, first serve basis from 6:30-8:30 am...The clinic moves through a large group of patients very efficiently yet you still feel like you are getting the individual attention you need.
How was your experience with Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute?
Dr. Zacur is outstanding. I completely trust him with my care and have complete confidence in his abilities. He is kind and compassionate but also very honest when necessary. He takes the time to make sure I understand and am comfortable with the treatment plan. Even though he is an older doctor with many years of experience, he is knowledgeable about most current research and standards of practice.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute?
Dr. Zacur clearly cares about his patients and goes out of his way to be available to his patients instead of letting the on-call/covering doctor in the practice handle things whenever possible. I suffered a miscarriage while under his care and the level of compassion he showed was amazing.
Describe the protocols Howard Zacur used in your cycles at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute and their degree of success.
I was diagnosed with a unicornuate uterus which limited my treatment options to only IVF. Dr. Zacur stressed the importance of reducing the risk of multiples and strongly recommended transferring only one embryo. I was on follistim, cetrotide and ovidrel. We did a retrieval and froze all embryos and did a frozen transfer later. Dr. Zacur recommends frozen over fresh transfers to his patients because he feels there is a better chance of success especially when your body has a chance to recover from stims and retrieval. I became pregnant after my first and only transfer but miscarried at 7 weeks. I am currently doing stims for another retrieval, we are planning to freeze all again and transfer an embryo in a later cycle.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
The nursing staff are extremely efficient and reliable. I've had every question or request attended to promptly. The IVF classes taught by the nurses are so helpful.
Describe your experience with Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
The clinic is run very efficiently. All of the staff have been fantastic.
Describe your experience with your monitoring appointments at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
Ultrasounds and labs are done every day on a first come, first serve basis from 6:30-8:30 am. This has worked great for my schedule. The clinic moves through a large group of patients very efficiently yet you still feel like you are getting the individual attention you need. The nurses call you a few hours later after your lab results are in to update you on the plan/medication doses/next step.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
An IVF cycle not including medication costs about $11,000. A frozen embryo transfer is about half the cost of a full cycle. I am fortunate enough to have insurance coverage for fertility so I'm only paying co pays at this point.
He was kind and gentle bedside manner. He explained to me in detail his plan for me and I trust him. Dr Zacur was also very thorough and informative, also I felt like his regimen for me agreed perfectly to my natural cycle!... 50 mg of clomid cycle days 2-6 uncomfortable side effects from the clomid at such as hot flashes, headaches, major bloat/gas and cramps from cd 8 till ovulation! They were uncomfortable but not unbearable and to my understanding those are pretty common effects and I was lowest dosage. I reacted great to meds peoduced 2 mature eggs one on each side and I ovulated on my own , no need for trigger shot.
They are a great staff [at Johns Hopkins] quick and efficient. They also always return my calls and I’ve never had a issue at anytime with my care. The staff is kind and joyful which is contagious! I also like the music in the waiting area because I’m usually balked up with nervousness so it’s a welcoming distraction.. 50 mg of clomid cycle days 2-6 uncomfortable side effects from the clomid at such as hot flashes, headaches, major bloat/gas and cramps from cd 8 till ovulation! They were uncomfortable but not unbearable and to my understanding those are pretty common effects and I was lowest dosage. I reacted great to meds peoduced 2 mature eggs one on each side and I ovulated on my own , no need for trigger shot.
How was your experience with Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute?
He was kind and gentle bedside manner. He explained to me in detail his plan for me and I trust him. Dr Zacur was also very thorough and informative, also I felt like his regimen for me agreed perfectly to my natural cycle!
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute?
Stay positive
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute?
My experience was pretty neutral
Describe the protocols Howard Zacur used in your cycles at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute and their degree of success.
50 mg of clomid cycle days 2-6 uncomfortable side effects from the clomid at such as hot flashes, headaches, major bloat/gas and cramps from cd 8 till ovulation! They were uncomfortable but not unbearable and to my understanding those are pretty common effects and I was lowest dosage. I reacted great to meds peoduced 2 mature eggs one on each side and I ovulated on my own , no need for trigger shot.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
Quick, efficient
Describe your experience with Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
They are a great staff quick and efficient. They also always return my calls and I’ve never had a issue at anytime with my care. The staff is kind and joyful which is contagious! I also like the music in the waiting area because I’m usually balked up with nervousness so it’s a welcoming distraction
Describe the costs associated with your care under Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
I don’t know specifics off the top of my head but it was covered 80% by my insurance company
he [Dr. Zacur] will keep trying to answer your questions until you understand what’s happening in your body...The strategy for us was to perform a hysteroscopy and lapeoscopy to determine whether I had any blockages. At that time, I was diagnosed with endometriosis — which was treated at time of surgery. Unfortunately, it was determined that I have a low egg reserve making IVF very difficult...has an amazing bedside manner. He has always been very caring, understand and kind in his treatment.
Honestly, every person I’ve encountered in the clinic [Johns Hopkins Medical Institute] has been nothing but caring, accommodating and helpful. They’ve gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable including rearranging my doctors schedule to fit me in for an office visit prior to my cycle...The staff was great about being upfront regarding costs before treatment...They truly believe in focusing on 1 healthy live birth. We asked about multiples and their focus really seems to be centered on safety of the baby and mother.
How was your experience with Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute?
As I mentioned the experience with Dr. Zacur and all of the Hopkins staff was night and day when compared to our previous experience at Shady Grove.
In our first experience, Dr. Zacur clearly explained what some of the issues might be BUT explained the need to do testing before decided how to proceed. He has a wonderful bedside manner and clearly cares for his patients.
This is the type of experience I wished for when we went to our first physician who essentially ran nothing other than blood
Work and an ultrasound before determining/refusing to try IVF with us. They only gave us an option of egg donor without ever testing for other options.
It was devastating.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute?
Be honest with your questions and concerns — he will keep trying to answer your questions until you understand what’s happening in your body.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute?
Dr. Zacur has an amazing bedside manner. He has always been very caring, understand and kind in his treatment. In my experience with another doctor, I felt like a number. And my specific fertility issues were addressed and a plan of attack / options were presented in a kind way.
Describe the protocols Howard Zacur used in your cycles at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute and their degree of success.
The strategy for us was to perform a hysteroscopy and lapeoscopy to determine whether I had any blockages. At that time, I was diagnosed with endometriosis — which was treated at time of surgery.
Unfortunately, it was determined that I have a low egg reserve making IVF very difficult.
Describe your experience with your nurse at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute. (Assigned nurse: Janice )
Honestly, every person I’ve encountered in the clinic has been nothing but caring, accommodating and helpful.
They’ve gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable including rearranging my doctors schedule to fit me in for an office visit prior to my cycle.
Describe your experience with Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
Come with an open mind but don’t get frustrated if you can’t get a new patient appointment immediately. There’s a little bit of a wait.
Ensure any precious medical records have made it to the office before your appointment. It helps to save you a lot of time and answering questions, submitting for testing if that has already been done before.
Write everything down! There is always so much information that is can be really overwhelming BUT the staff is amazing. They’re super responsible, responsive and attentive. So even if you forget to ask something, they’ll respond via email
Usually within 24 hours.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Howard Zacur at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
My office visits were covered by insurance but most of the other expenses were out of pocket.
The staff was great about being upfront regarding costs before treatment.
Describe Howard Zacur's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute.
They truly believe in focusing on 1 healthy live birth. We asked about multiples and their focus really seems to be centered on safety of the baby and mother.