Dr. DiMattina

[Anonymous]

After reading some posts here, I decided to start my own to say what I think of him.
I was referred to him because of high FSH. Turns out I was already pregnant in my first visit. He was very nice in that first consult.
After that his clinic still monitored me for betas and he did my first ultrasound. Turns out I ended up miscarrying, and I have called him twice with questions (one to inform him of the mc and the other one to discuss some test results) and he called me back within two hours, was very nice and answered all the questions I had, and told me to please call him if I had any other questions. The guy is not really treating me and still he took the time twice to call me and explain stuff to me!! I think he is great.
Just my two cents.

[Anonymous]

I'm gald you like him and I'm very sorry about your m/c, but I hate to break it to you -- given that you do not yet have a child, you are still a potential customer.

[Anonymous]

I do have a child and I have had 2 mcs, so I am prob an easy patient for him since I get pg easily with no help.
I still think he is very nice and helpful, even though he might see me as a potential customer. My point is, I don't see him as the awful person some think he is, and I wanted to share that.

[Anonymous]

You did not have extensive experience with Dr. Dimattina. I think if you had a more "difficult" case and had more interaction, you may have started to see some of the issues that others have had with him. I only had to deal w/ Dr. Dimattina for 4 months when trying to conceive my first son and he was somewhat abrasive, but not enough to prevent me from returning. This second round over the past 8 months have been miserable because of him. He has not been attentive to my case, has not requested smoe of the required tests and has been treating me in a formulaic manner, resulting in much delay in my treatment. In addition, he has not been accessible in answering my questions or emphathetic to the emotional aspects of infertility. I am currently seeking a new doctor.

[Anonymous]

To the OP - the PP's statement about you not yet having a child is referring to the fact that you are in the process of trying to have another child and, as such, are a potential patient of his and, honestly, an opportunity for him to make money. You mention that you have high FSH. Are you aware that the route of treatment DF recommends for high FSH patients is their natural cycle IVF? If you are comfortable that is the treatment path you want to take, then I say give him a try. However, if you are interested in doing stimulated cycles, then I would recommend getting a second opinion elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I got pg the month I had an Fsh of 21 and ovulate every month, in my consult he suggested the test was prob wrong, never mentioned ivf...
Again, the purpose of the post was to share my brief experience. I have read hate posts after people had just one consult. I saw him twice and talked twice with him on the phone, I admit it's not much but this was my experience.

[Anonymous]

Op again. I wanted to add he hasn't even treated me yet so I am not sure he would suggest ncivf without even knowing how I respond to meds, he will at least try a clomid challenge I assume...

[Anonymous]

I am a former DiMattina patient. It is absolutely not true that his recommended course of action for all high FSHers is Natural Cycle IVF. This is rubbish. With him, and I hope almost all doctors, recommendations are based on the whole picture. Natural Cycle IVF is one possible course of action, but by all means, there are people there who have high FSH who do stimulated cycles at Dominion.

And yes, you are a potential patient. But so are all the people who walk in who walk out saying he was awful. In my experience he is good -- a good doctor. He answers questions, he knows his stuff and he has good results. In my opinion, he is great.

His personality is not everyone's cup of tea. But, I wasn't looking for a husband or a friend. I was looking for a doctor who could get me pregnant. If you look at the negative comments about Dr. DiMattina, they all have to do with his bedside manner, not his results. And bedside manner is more important to some than others. Which is totally fine.

My guess is that many of the people who have problems with him want to be more hands on in managing their case than he allows. You guys know who you are. You are non-medically-trained fertility experts because of books and the Web. You go in armed with a lot of information and expect your doctor to be your partner in the process. And you may want validation of everything you've learned. Some doctors are better at providing this than others. Dr. DiMattina is not one of them.

[Anonymous]

My issue with Dr D wasn't really his cold bedside manner - it was more that I thought that his bedside manner did not facilitate allowing me and my husband to make the best decision for us. A patient with IF isn't like a patient coming into an ER with a heart attack who must have certain things done in order to survive. There are many ways to deal with IF - IUI, IVF, donor egg, adoption, etc. I felt like Dr D did not discuss my medical options in a way that best allowed me to make the right decisions. He also immediately said that he'd be able to get me pregnant, which struck me has an irresponsible promise to make to someone who is clearly emotionally vulnerable.