Verified
Verified
This patient has provided documentation of treatment at this clinic.
2023, Unknown Success
From the beginning, Dr. Gidhei took the time to fully understand our fertility journey and background...She has been hopeful, but forthright with each step of the IUI and IVF processes. Our questions are taken seriously and answered appropriately...Dr. Ghidei was not necessarily available to respond to questions during the rest of the UVF process. This was a bit frustrating as her patient. Overall, we feel safe and heard with Dr. Ghidei.
The [Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas] staff is all welcoming and kind. The doctors are knowledgable and treat you respectfully. Unfortunately, the billing is intentionally unclear, expensive, and costs are not provided to patients before treatment is given...We were surprised to have different doctors every visit, none of whom were our doctor. While there at key points in the process, Dr. Ghidei was not necessarily available to respond to questions during the rest of the UVF process. This was a bit frustrating as her patient. Overall, we feel safe and heard with Dr. Ghidei.
How was your experience with Luwam Ghidei at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas?
Dr. Ghidei explains steps in the process as they are happening, and was present enough to perform our IUI and Egg Retrieval for IVF. She takes the time to thoroughly answer our questions when we see her, and doesn't make us feel silly for asking them. She was not in the clinic for any of the lead in ultrasounds or bloodwork, which is not necessarily a problem except that we were not told she was away during those lead up weeks. We were surprised to have different doctors every visit, none of whom were our doctor.
While there at key points in the process, Dr. Ghidei was not necessarily available to respond to questions during the rest of the UVF process. This was a bit frustrating as her patient.
Overall, we feel safe and heard with Dr. Ghidei. We feel like she has given us the proper course of treatment for our situation and would recommend her to others.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Luwam Ghidei at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas?
Come prepared with questions about the process and potential courses of action related to your situation.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Luwam Ghidei at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas?
From the beginning, Dr. Gidhei took the time to fully understand our fertility journey and background. While we did need to bring questions about different scenarios, procedures, etc to her attention (instead of them being explored without our nudging), she responded to each thoughtfully, and allowed us to make choices in an unpressured manner. She has been hopeful, but forthright with each step of the IUI and IVF processes. Our questions are taken seriously and answered appropriately.
Describe the protocols Luwam Ghidei used in your cycles at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas and their degree of success.
We used Antagonist protocol including Omnitrope. This was pursued after a failed first IVF round where no embryos made it to the blastocyst stage (antagonist protocol without Omnitrope). In the second IVF cycle, Gonal F was used in a higher dosage + a low-dose HCG. These were supplemented with HGH (Omnitrope).
Results were (IVF Cycle #1 vs IVF Cycle #2):
Eggs Retrieved: 15 vs 24
Mature Eggs: 9 vs 19
Fertilized Eggs: 7 vs 15
Developed Blastocysts: 0 vs 6
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas.
None of them were ever consistent or around enough to actually have interactions to measure.
Describe your experience with Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas.
The staff is all welcoming and kind. The doctors are knowledgable and treat you respectfully.
Unfortunately, the billing is intentionally unclear, expensive, and costs are not provided to patients before treatment is given. For instance, after paying $21,000 for an IVF cycle with high-level bullet points laid out by phase, we then received additional bills costing thousands of dollars for procedures that were required as part of the IVF "lead-in", which they consider separate from the IVF "cycle", even though they go by the same name as the bullet points provided previously. These are also scans/procedures that could have been done by other doctors who accept our insurance, which should have been allowed since these scans were "lead-in" and not part of IVF according to them.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Luwam Ghidei at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas.
$3,000 for IUI
$21,500 for 1 IVF cycle covering from your baseline ultrasound through a frozen embryo transfer. This does not include "Lead-In" ultrasounds and bloodwork which were another $2,000.
- ICSI for more than 10 eggs was an additional $1,200
- PGT-A testing was $200 per embryo
- Any transfers required after the first frozen embryo transfer are an additional $6,000
- Cost of protocol medications was ~$4,000 additional
Describe Luwam Ghidei's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas.
The doctor's preference and standard protocol is transferring a single embryo.
What specific things went wrong at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas?
- Failed to order appropriate test
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas.
Prior to our second IVF cycle, we decided to do a DNA fragmentation test on sperm to rule this out as a contributing factor to our unexplained infertility. The clinic forgot to actually order the DNA frag test for nearly 2 weeks causing us to nearly miss our window for starting our cycle.
Separately the clinic tried to have us order medications from a partner pharmacy that gives them kickbacks. This pharmacy's pricing was significantly higher than what we found just searching online on our own.
We've had multiple billing issues and surprise bills that we were not told about until after the procedure was done.