Natural cycle IVF
Is this a good option for patient's with tubal ligation?See More
The "Truth" About Dominion Fertility's Natural Cycle IVF (NCIVF) Program
Hello Everyone!
Recently, there have been many mistruths appearing on-line about our NC-IVF program. So, I am writing to set the record straight and provide you with honest information about our experience with NCIVF. As you well know, the internet provides a platform which all too often provides only one side of a "story" and unfortunately, far from reality too.
By way of background, because of our high success we experienced with our stimulated IVF program, in January, 2007, we decided to add a NCIVF program for our patients as most of our patients achieving pregnancy in our stimulated IVF program had only one or two embryos transferred. Thus, we believed that many of our patients did not require ovarian stimulation drugs and the high costs associated with stimulated IVF.
Six weeks ago, we submitted 4 papers describing our experience with NCIVF to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine(ASRM) annual meeting in October, 2010. All 4 abstracts were accepted by ASRM. First, let me say that after 3 and a half years of performing NCIVF, we remain most enthusiastic about the success of our program and especially so for 2010.
So, here are some of the facts about our NCIVF program from 2007 to 2009 as presented to the ASRM: First, on-line there are individuals claiming that most of our patients never made it to an egg collection and instead they underwent an IUI rather than the intended egg collection. The FACT is: 86% of our patients who started our NCIVF program went to egg collection and an egg was retrieved in 88% of these patients. So, the vast majority of our patients not only made it to an egg collection but also had a successful egg retrieval. IUI occurred in less than 15% of our patients! And successful embryo transfer occurred in 56% of the patients who had an egg obtained. Overall, 35.3% achieved a clinical pregnancy per embryo transfer. In my opinion, not bad for only one egg and one embryo! Cumulatively, of course, with more embryo transfers, the total pregnancy rate is even higher. In fact, our very first patient to deliver from our NCIVF program, delivered again last year from a repeat NCIVF treatment.
Second, misstatements were made concerning our costs and profit motives. We currently charge $4,400 for a completed NCIVF treatment and it is prorated. If a patient does not make it to an egg retrieval, then the cost is prorated to $1,400 and the rest either refunded to the patient or credited towards another treatment. In our NCIVF program, we routinely perform ICSI without an added charge since there is only one egg. Compare these costs to a stimulated IVF cycle where the drugs alone cost about $5,000, the treatment cycle itself about $9,500 and another $1,500 to $2,000 for ICSI. Thus, the total costs for a stimulated IVF cycle can be $15,000 or more. In my opinion, DF is not only cost conscious for our patients, but the most cost conscious fertility center in town since we were the first and perhaps still the only IVF center in the Washington DC area to offer and produce babies using NCIVF. Interesting to me that NCIVF is routinely performed in over 50 countries around the world but not so in the US.
Critics of NCIVF say that it may take many treatments before one achieves pregnancy. The FACT is: 64% of the pregnancies that occurred in our NCIVF program were achieved in the FIRST treatment cycle and 21% in the second. So, we usually only recommend one to three treatments of NCIVF to our patients.
So, here is the truth about our experience with our NCIVF program and we are most proud of our accomplishments and success. NCIVF is not a "cure-all" for infertile couples, rather another option for many. I wish all of you the very best in obtaining your fertility goals.
Recently, there have been many mistruths appearing on-line about our NC-IVF program. So, I am writing to set the record straight and provide you with honest information about our experience with NCIVF. As you well know, the internet provides a platform which all too often provides only one side of a "story" and unfortunately, far from reality too.
By way of background, because of our high success we experienced with our stimulated IVF program, in January, 2007, we decided to add a NCIVF program for our patients as most of our patients achieving pregnancy in our stimulated IVF program had only one or two embryos transferred. Thus, we believed that many of our patients did not require ovarian stimulation drugs and the high costs associated with stimulated IVF.
Six weeks ago, we submitted 4 papers describing our experience with NCIVF to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine(ASRM) annual meeting in October, 2010. All 4 abstracts were accepted by ASRM. First, let me say that after 3 and a half years of performing NCIVF, we remain most enthusiastic about the success of our program and especially so for 2010.
So, here are some of the facts about our NCIVF program from 2007 to 2009 as presented to the ASRM: First, on-line there are individuals claiming that most of our patients never made it to an egg collection and instead they underwent an IUI rather than the intended egg collection. The FACT is: 86% of our patients who started our NCIVF program went to egg collection and an egg was retrieved in 88% of these patients. So, the vast majority of our patients not only made it to an egg collection but also had a successful egg retrieval. IUI occurred in less than 15% of our patients! And successful embryo transfer occurred in 56% of the patients who had an egg obtained. Overall, 35.3% achieved a clinical pregnancy per embryo transfer. In my opinion, not bad for only one egg and one embryo! Cumulatively, of course, with more embryo transfers, the total pregnancy rate is even higher. In fact, our very first patient to deliver from our NCIVF program, delivered again last year from a repeat NCIVF treatment.
Second, misstatements were made concerning our costs and profit motives. We currently charge $4,400 for a completed NCIVF treatment and it is prorated. If a patient does not make it to an egg retrieval, then the cost is prorated to $1,400 and the rest either refunded to the patient or credited towards another treatment. In our NCIVF program, we routinely perform ICSI without an added charge since there is only one egg. Compare these costs to a stimulated IVF cycle where the drugs alone cost about $5,000, the treatment cycle itself about $9,500 and another $1,500 to $2,000 for ICSI. Thus, the total costs for a stimulated IVF cycle can be $15,000 or more. In my opinion, DF is not only cost conscious for our patients, but the most cost conscious fertility center in town since we were the first and perhaps still the only IVF center in the Washington DC area to offer and produce babies using NCIVF. Interesting to me that NCIVF is routinely performed in over 50 countries around the world but not so in the US.
Critics of NCIVF say that it may take many treatments before one achieves pregnancy. The FACT is: 64% of the pregnancies that occurred in our NCIVF program were achieved in the FIRST treatment cycle and 21% in the second. So, we usually only recommend one to three treatments of NCIVF to our patients.
So, here is the truth about our experience with our NCIVF program and we are most proud of our accomplishments and success. NCIVF is not a "cure-all" for infertile couples, rather another option for many. I wish all of you the very best in obtaining your fertility goals.
-Dr. Michael DiMattina
Comment
Start your own group or topic!
Everyone is welcome to share and participate!
Forum
2 miscarriages 9 Replies
Started by anonymous. Last reply by John David Gordon MD 1 hour ago.
a little about me 5 Replies
Started by melissa wright. Last reply by John David Gordon MD 1 hour ago.
Progesterone side effects during 2ww 2 Replies
Started by Kristen. Last reply by John David Gordon MD 1 hour ago.
Latest Activity
John David Gordon MD replied to anonymous's discussion '2 miscarriages'
Always better to have had a near miss than nothing...the data from the CDC suggests pregnancy rates in patients undergoing IVF are higher in those with prior pregnancy loss in a previous cycle compared with those that came up totally empty…
John David Gordon MD replied to melissa wright's discussion 'a little about me'
Hi Melissa
Most commonly biochemical pregnancies are genetic in origin as the embryo was normal enough to implant but not normal enough to keep growing. Any heavy bleeding that is unusual is a reason to at least check in with your doctor...
Good…
John David Gordon MD replied to Kristen's discussion 'Progesterone side effects during 2ww'
Agree that the emotional ups and downs make the 2ww the worst part of the whole process for many of our patients. Hard to understand why progesterone would cause cramping as progesterone is actually a uterine relaxant but there are always exceptions…
John David Gordon MD replied to Anonymous's discussion 'Natural cycle IVF'
Absolutely! Especially for those who only want one child and do not want to deal with the possiblility of extra embryos in teh freezer!
DrG
Bonus baby with NC IVF after being told FSH levels precluded another IVF attempt!
Just received a wonderful email from a lovely couple who traveled all the way from Georgia to do NC IVF here at Dominion. Having had a previous IVF/ICSI baby in 2006 they had returned to their RE for another attempt at IVF. Previously the response to medications had been poor and this time the response was even worse with no retrieval even attempted. Her FSH was 18.9 and they were told that essentially no good options existed in terms of IVF. Fortunately, they had heard about NC IVF and we had…See More
A blog post by John David Gordon MD was featured
Anonymous replied to Kristen's discussion 'Progesterone side effects during 2ww'
Totally agree with you about the progesterone, I've taken the supps and had such bad PMS like symptoms that I knew it didn't work long before the blood test.
Progesterone side effects during 2ww
I'm currently 11dp7dt after a frozen blastocyst transfer, and I've been pretty shocked by the side effects of the progesterone & estrace. The cramping, bloating, breast soreness, and emotional nosedive are overwhelming. What concerns me most is the cramping. A number of times it was bad enough to wake me from a sound sleep. I was told that was ok and normal as long as there is no bleeding. I am doing the progesterone suppositories. I can't help but wonder how or why an embryo would…See More
Discussion posted by Kristen
melissa wright replied to melissa wright's discussion 'a little about me'
Thank you for ur input dr gordon. It really means a lot 2 me 2 get advise from other doctors such as yourself. I have however had what I was told a chemical pregnacy. And I am pretty sure I had another 1 this mth. I had a x-ray done with the dye…
© 2012 Created by Dominion Fertility.
You need to be a member of Fertile Grounds | IVF Forum | Tips for getting Pregnant to add comments!
Join Fertile Grounds | IVF Forum | Tips for getting Pregnant