
"At IHR, the nurses and ultrasounds techs and lab techs all knew me by name... I just felt like everyone there was really rooting for me."
I found Dr. Tur-Kaspa after trying two other clinics on the east coast. What a different experience, on so many levels. Most importantly, Dr. Tur-Kaspa is very, very good at this. He is simply an excellent clinician and has success where others have failed. He adjusted my protocol several times to maximize the number of embryos we got. He worked within the limits of my insurance -- even canceling one cycle early when he thought we would get better results with a different protocol (in order not to "use up" one of my 4 egg retrievals allowed by insurance). He is not only sensitive to the emotional turmoil of this journey, but also the financial stress. His office worked with my insurance company to get as much covered as possible, and when I had to pay for a procedure out-of-pocket they offered me a highly discounted rate -- very similar to the contracted rate that insurance actually pays (much less than the "sticker price"). Dr. Tur-Kaspa is the only doctor in this field that I know of who offers a lottery every year for FREE IVF! This doctor is truly on a mission to help people.
With his phenomenal track record and multitude of awards, it was amazing to see how much humility he has and how accommodating he was. For example, I really wanted to try a natural cycle for implantation -- which means that I was not "in sync" with the majority of his patients (default standard of care is a medicated cycle, allowing doctors to "batch" their patients) and he was fine with that, even though it meant a more inconvenient and unpredictable schedule for himself (e.g., coming to surgery center one day special for me, etc.). I've been to other clinics where there was a my-way-or-the-highway attitude (y'know, "this is how we do things here") - and Dr. Tur-Kaspa was the exact opposite. Being a fertility patient, you're very vulnerable, and having the doctor respect your individual preferences is really empowering.
The other thing I remember from various appointments with him was that he made me smile and laugh. He has a good sense of humor which can lighten the mood and imbue everything with optimism. I distinctly remember a couple of his one liners from right before egg retrieval surgery and I'm chuckling as I type this (not gonna give them away online!).
One more thing that stands out about my experience at IHR is the office staff. My experience at the other practices I tried was very . . . impersonal. Sort of "pick a number, take a seat". At IHR, the nurses and ultrasounds techs and lab techs all knew me by name and face and were so kind and helpful -- and often remembered details about my case! When I came in for bloodwork after getting my first positive pregnancy test the nurse at the check-in counter whispered "congratulations" -- she recognized me and knew exactly why I was there (despite there being many other women in the waiting room at all different stages of the process). One time I forgot to pick up something I needed for the weekend at a Friday appointment and one of the nurses arranged with me to pick it up from her doorman on Sat night! I just felt like everyone there was really rooting for me :)
I recently met with Dr. Tur-Kaspa again to discuss my next embryo implantation. I brought my 8 month old daughter with me to the appointment. He was so happy to meet her that he literally carried her out of his office to show her off to his staff! This is truly a man on a mission to make couples happy.
Laura S. Yelp Review, 8/5/2019