Orhan Bukulmez

During are initial appt with Dr. Bukulmez he explained his plan of actions, went over several detailed plans to consider my allergy disorder's, and convinced us the care would be different from previous IVF clinics. That all changed when too many different staff got involved, it's a training hospital so be prepared to receive different protocools, see different staff. Take a lot of notes. If Dr. Bukulmez had his own private clinic, staff, and worked in a better location other then bad parts of down town Dallas- I'm sure his practice would prosper

If you don't live in Dallas- We don't recommend. If your military- We don't recommend (you'll need at least 20 days of leave). On top of the multiple appts for labs & ultrasounds. UT Southwesten is able to build additional buildings but not have discount hotels for out of town patients- like other IVF clinics.

I used the same medications as other patients. Estradiol, clomid, cetrotide, and menapor

Cheaper then most IVF clinics cuase it's a training hospital. The inconsistence with anesthesiologist and nurses is not worth your $$

Dr. Bukulmez explained in detailed why a single embryo transfer would be best for us.

He is extremely knowledgeable and experienced. I trust him with my care. He is very thorough with explanations and answers all questions. I do not feel rushed with him. My husband struggled a little with his accent.

Bring something to write things down. It’s a lot of information. Write down any questions you have.

Lab work, HSG testing, ultrasound I did min stim IVF with ICSI and embryo freeze Orally I took estrace and clomid. Subcutaneously I took cetrotide, menopur, chorionic gonodotropin Result after 1 cycle: 1 frozen embryo

Monitoring is between the hours of 7:30-10 am. They would give you a specific time to come to avoid long wait times but as long as you’re in this time frame you can have your testing done. I never had to wait more than 10 minutes to be called back.

Cycle management, physician consult, psychological consultation Sonograms and cycle monitoring lab tests Oocyte retrieval including anesthesia In-vitro fertilization, ICSI, extended culture and embryo freeze $3800 Medications at outside pharmacy ~$1000

N/A

I was happy with how Dr. Bukulmez treated me as a human and not just a number and actually took time to talk to me and learn about me as a person rather than just a patient. He was very clear with all potential directions of my treatment and wanted me to feel empowered to make my own decisions rather than tell me what to do. I felt supported, educated, empowered, and in good hands.

He won’t hold your hand and tell you exactly what to do but he will provide you with all the information you need to feel empowered to make your own decision.

Luteal phase protocol with mini/mild stim IVF. Follistim used daily and triggered with Pregnyl.

UTSW has a policy that they will ONLY transfer single embryos.

He very knowledgeable and does not use generic protocols for everyone. He takes a lot of blood work and tells you what to do the day before. If you are cycling with him you must be open to appointments everyday because he gives you a calendar but does not follow it. So be aware that changes are dependent on your sonogram and blood work from the day before.

He speaks with accent and many people say he hard to understand but I understand him. He doesn’t have other programs like egg donation. He limited to what utsw allows him to do.

I did mini ivf with him. Once you are ready to start. You do baseline to make sure you are surpressed, after that you take clomid for about 4-5 days with cetrotide. Then you have mix of menopur and clomid until follicles are ready for retrieval.

4000 per mini cycle- 12k for traditional but prices change yearly. It has gone up every year. I guess since they are more busy they charging more.

He always suggested single embryos transfers

Bukulmez is the chairman of the department and one of my main reasons for seeing him was that he is at the forefront of the field, individualizes his protocols, and takes the toughest cases. He does communicate at a very high, medical level. I am a physician so I liked that, but it could possibly be challenging for people not in the medical field or going through this for the first time. My only complaint is I would have liked to get more detailed updates during my IVF cycle to more fully understand what was going on. He is very responsive to the portal messaging via his nursing staff

Estrace priming followed me Antagonist protocol with follistim, menopur, cetrotide. His goal is quality over quantity and we were shooting for 8-14 quality eggs

$10k not including meds

He usually only recommends single embryo transfers in my experience. We only transferred >1 bc they were concerned we wouldn’t make it to blastocyst stage

Dr. Bukulmez seemed to be a good doctor. Never rude or mean. But he told me up front that I had only a 17% chance of having a baby with my own eggs. He recommended mini-IVF to focus on quality of eggs and not quantity. We went 4 rounds of mini-IVF. 1st round - 2 eggs retrieved, both fertilized, neither made it to blastocyst. 2nd round - 1 egg retrieved, 1 fertilized, made it to Day 3 only. 3rd round - 0 eggs retrieved. (I was given a $1,000 credit towards my next IVF because none of the sacs contained eggs.) 4th round - 1 egg retrieved, 1 egg fertilized, made it to Day 3. I think the one thing I wish would have happened was more trying different options. I felt like we were repeating the same protocol each time and hoping to get a different result. I could have pursued it further but after 4 rounds I was out more than $25,000 and I just couldn't afford to continue. Each round was looking less and less promising. Had it been the other way around and I felt like we were making progress I may have continued with Dr. Bukulmez but that wasn't the case. Not a bad doctor, I just didn't feel like his recommendations were very specialized based on my tests or outcomes. We tried one option and that was it. I probably should have pushed more, but I didn't see him often. Usually working with assistants or nurses.

Be pushier. Ask more questions. Insist on more options.

Mini-IVF was recommended because I was over 40. It did result in fewer eggs but I don't believe it improved the quality. Over 4 rounds I had 4 eggs retrieved and none made it to blastocyst stage or were ever frozen, so I never made it to a transfer.

Mini IVF round would have run about $7,000 to completion including the transfer. I never got that far. So I paid about $4,000. Each cycle was billed as a lump sum fee that included all visits, ultrasounds and retrieval.

He's very thorough in explaining the process of mini IVF's, benefits and goals. He shows compassion and specialized care/approach for each patient. Even though UTSW is a teaching hospital, nice to know he does all surgeries and transfers.

Be sure to clear your schedule and be flexible from days 5-14 of your cycle for doctors appointments.

He wanted to do mini IVF retrievals in order to get fewer but better quality eggs. He explained that every cycle is different with some months being better than others. Results have been positive so far with 4 frozen embryos.

My insurance, BCBS of IL has been good, with all benefits met so no major charges yet in 2017

I'm not to the transfer part yet, although we have discussed implanting 2 embryos

When we first met Dr. B, one of the things he said about infertility being like other diseases and why people should look at it that way made a difference to me - showing how he looks at and approaches our situation. He is open about our chances but maintains a sense of hope that he can get us pregnant. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand him but overall we had minimal issues.

Ask questions - he is always open to our questions which is important

Single transfer recommended due to my unicornate uterus

Very intelligent and thoughtful. He spoke in very technical terms, which was ok as I am a physician. He has a very good reputation. I really like his current nursing staff and front desk workers, who always make us feel so welcomed. I found appointments very convenient and on time.

Keep asking questions.

IVF cycle ~8500 + meds. Transfers ~2500 + meds. Insurance covered IUI

The clinic prefers single embryo transfers, prefers to avoid genetic screening unless necessary. We did end up doing two multiple embryo transfers, but after the first one failed.