Zeroing in on a clinic in Delhi

Delhi, the capital of India, has a gamut of opportunities for everyone. I, being a patient seeking help of a fertility expert, contacted many fertility clinics telling my case history to a few junior doctors over the phone or emailing it to the head of their department. I got positive response from two, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and Nova IVI Fertility Clinic (Nova). At SGRH, I had direct contact of the senior doctor; she asked me to call her the moment I reach Delhi. At Nova, I had built a good rapport with the receptionist; she not only made to talk to the Director of the clinic, but also book an appointment for me one month in advance.

I wanted to setup everything before setting off to Delhi, as I had to stay with close relatives and causing them least troubles. I called SGRH doctor but she had quit SGRH and had joined a private practice. That didn’t sound like a good idea to me, as I contacted her because of SGRH’s history of FIRST IVF Baby in North India. Since the brand name attached to her got dropped, I chose Nova over her.

In Oct’14, I decided to try my luck at Nova IVI Fertility (Opp. St. Thomas Church, Africa Avenue, R K Puram Sector-2, Block B-2, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi). I registered myself as a New Patient and after physical examination, I then met Dr. Nalini Mahajan, Director of Clinic. After understanding the case, she advised a few tests to be done before I met her next. I called my DH for the next appointment.

My meeting with 3 specialists in Delhi

I am back to broadcast the description of our Doctor-Hopping sessions in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Here it goes...

In Feb'14, we completed two years of Trying To Conceive (TTC). In these two years, my DH and I discussed our infertility with 12 doctors (Allopathic and Ayurvedic) in Bangalore. Guess that wasn't enough to find a solution to our problem. So we shifted our concentration from Within Bangalore to Within India.

We travelled alone to Delhi in Feb'14 and first met with Dr. Sanjay Mittal (Uro Andrologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi). His Consultation Fee was Rs. 700 then. It took him just 5 minutes to glance through my DH's reports, give his verdict and support it with logic and science. He appeared to me as a very knowledgeable and experienced Uro Andrologist. Unfortunately, his conclusion was just the opposite of what I wanted to hear from him. He advised only 2 things; Artificial Donor Insemination (ADI) or Adoption :( His confidence made me lose hope, whatever little was left.

Hearing this for the first time was too much to handle alone. These 2 years had taught us that Patience and Perseverance are of great importance in pursuit of a happy life. With this zeal, I took a week to roam around in Delhi and then meet Dr. Kapil Kumar Juneja (Urosurgeon and Andrologist, Moolchand Medcity, Lajpat Nagar III, New Delhi). Since my DH wasn't there to meet him personally and Dr. Juneja was going out of country for few days, he advised to get an Epididymal/Testicular Biopsy at Moolchand after a week or any good hospital in Bangalore. 

Exactly 1 year prior to that date, my DH had got TESE/ incision-suture process done on him; neither of us wanted him to go through the same state of affairs, again. I informed Dr. Juneja about TESE and that no sperms were found in the extraction, so should there be any chance of finding them now. Dr. Juneja politely suggested me to pay a visit to Ayurveda Dept. at Moolchand.

Were we back to square one? 

Well, I met Dr. S V Tripathi (Chief Physician - Ayurveda, Moolchand Medcity, Lajpat Nagar III, New Delhi) the next day, as I reached Ayurveda Dept. after its closing time. I was pretty clear about not repeating the steps, but fortunately, he didn't say so. He saw all the reports and prescriptions (Allopathic and Ayurvedic medicines) and told me very frankly, not to waste more time, money and efforts on trying to treat something which isn't possible anymore. He had good knowledge about science and his field, but we couldn't make use of it in our case.

My Doctor-Hopping session in Delhi wasn't fruitful. Guess that was enough for me to call my DH to Delhi and plan a weekend getaway trip. After all, vacations make you feel good and help in relaxing your nerves, and that was exactly what the need of the hour was.

Bon Voyage!