Fertility Center Of San Antonio — Local services in San Antonio

This is the first review I have ever taken the time to write. I feel that people should know what they are getting into with FCSA. They provide effective services (achieved pregnancy after 4 rounds) but this is a money making business with very little customer service or compassion. I saw a doctor on my 1st visit and the visits before I was having a procedure, otherwise I saw only nurses. They deliver the information as fast as possible before trying to run out the door to their next patient. It seemed to be a great inconvenience when I asked questions. I know they are busy and all of their clients are women pumped full of hormones but speaking as a nurse myself, if I was as compassion fatigued as these nurses seem to be, I would find another job. A few times my medication orders to the online pharmacy were missing something time sensitive and if I hadn’t double checked them I wouldn’t have been able to fulfill the treatment plan I paid $20k for. In my first med order Nora ordered me $3,000 worth of progesterone suppositories that I would never need (only used for fresh IVF cycles- not frozen, which I didn’t know at the time). A simple review of my chart would’ve told her that I was only doing frozen cycles. I got zero explanation on how to mix medications or give my shots. Luckily I didn’t need it but good luck if you don’t work in the medical field!

One day I was coming in for a pregnancy test which I was fairly certain was negative and the nurse (Kris I think) told me I “should really try to be more optimistic because the result could be positive”. She obviously does not know what it's like to have had 50 negative test results.

For my last blood drawn pregnancy test (7:30am) I was told that they should call with results within a couple hours. As usual, 3:30 (closing time) rolled around and no call. I called the office to try to speak to someone before they closed and was told that they had a lot of calls to make and I “needed to be more patient”. The past 3 years of my life had revolved around this phone call and it often happened that they forgot to call with results.

Dr. Retzloff was a nice, helpful doctor until I started having problems during early pregnancy which were so severe that I had to go to the ER and couldn’t work. I am a young, healthy, physically fit person with no medical problems. The only thing that had changed since symptom onset (heartrate in the 160’s at rest and shortness of breath after speaking only a few sentences) was the medication he prescribed and the pregnancy. While in the ER with unstable vital signs, I called the office multiple times to see if Dr. Retzloff could offer any insight into what was going on. His nurse said she delivered the message and seemed surprised that he hadn’t returned our calls. Hours later when we finally got ahold of him he would not listen to my symptoms or give us the time of day. He simply said there is no way that what I am experiencing is related to the pregnancy or medication he prescribed and hung up. He is more concerned about his potential liability than caring for his patients. As long as you don’t have any unforeseen problems I’m sure you will have a fine experience. He ended up agreeing to decrease my medication dose, my problems resolved within a few days and I was able to return to work. After a quick search I found credible medical literature supporting I am not the only person to experience these side effects from progesterone.

The phlebotomy tech only missed 1 of the probably 100 draws I had done. Karen the ultrasound tech was one of the few people I encountered in the clinic that seemed to genuinely care about her patients. The billing dept was always helpful...

Over two years ago, when I first started my fertility journey, I initially became a patient at another facility in town. (RMA). After four unsuccessful IUIs, I took one year off, and when I decided I was ready to start fertility treatments again, I decided to consider changing fertility centers. (Primarily because I felt that although the staff at the other facility had been friendly, it was almost a "fake" friendly, and that with exception to Dr. Brown, the physicians at RMA were uninvolved and often hurried. I work in health care, so I get it… but as a patient, I felt that communication there had really been subpar.) However, despite my frustrations with RMA, I was not completely committed to the change. I made my appointment at FCSA as a "trial". So when I got to the waiting room and waited for quite some time I whispered to my husband, "strike one". I also contemplated a "strike two" because unlike RMA (which was extremely "frou frou"), the facility in which FCSA is housed is older, less modern, and frankly not as inviting. But then when we were brought into an office to meet with Dr Martin, and it was a "home run"!! He was so kind and personable. He made us feel like people, not numbers or patients without names. He spent an hour with us, answering questions, explaining the complexities of fertility. Again, I work in health care, and I have never known a physician to spend that much time with any patient. Ever. And it made our wait (the first "strike" acceptable! If waiting happens because the docs are spending quality time with the patients, and I'll get the same treatment when I get to have their attention, I'm okay with it!) At our first place, when my (engineer) husband had LOTS of questions, we were offered a fast-paced power-point that used medical terminology and lingo that left him feeling very out of the loop. Dr. Martin didn't have a powerpoint, but he pulled out a piece of paper and began to draw on it, explaining different biological processes - in very simple, easy to follow terms. My husband felt SO included and relieved to have a better understanding of the challenges we face. We decided we wanted to wait about two more months before starting the IVF process, but they went ahead and gave us all of the things we would need when we did decide to get started… including a little booklet that explained various fertility treatments, options, terminologies, etc. etc. We are now a couple of weeks into our IVF cycle, and I couldn't be more pleased. I've found the communication during this process at Fertility Center of SA to be so much better than the communications I had ever before at the previous facility. I am so happy with my choice, and I am confident that I am in...

I wanted to write this review in rebuttal to the horrible, distasteful reviews I have read. My husband and I tried for 5 years to have a baby. Prior to being highly referred to this fertility center by multiple couples, I underwent 2 surgeries and 9 IUI’s. My husband and I were so heartbroken and had been on an emotional roller coaster for almost 4 years before we walked into their office. The physicians, nurses, and office staff always greeted us with a smile and multiple hugs. During the first IVF cycle, my husband and I were so afraid we were going to “do something wrong” with the medications. We, like many, were at our “wits end”. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I called the nurses for questions. They were so sweet, helpful, and timely. I wound up having 4 eggs. Two were abnormal and two were immature. You could tell Dr. Neil and his staff was genuinely upset for us and did not know how to tell me that my chances of having a biological child with my husband were very, very slim. Upon our request, Dr. Neil supported us in our decision to do a 2nd IVF. During the second IVF, my ovaries were not responding to the medications. Dr. Neil could have stopped the process; however, due to my husband’s faith that God was going to give us a child, Dr. Neal agreed to continue. God gave Dr. Neil and his amazing staff the skills to give us a baby boy! It was a very tough first trimester and this staff took excellent care of me and our son. I even spent an entire day at their office being metabolized with the nurses constantly checking on me and my husband. This is just one example of how much theses doctors and nurses care for their patients. Three months after we had our miracle baby, the entire office spent their lunch hour with us! It was so amazing to see the joy in their faces when they held our son! We got video and group photos. They are a huge part of our lives and every time we look at our son, we realize how blessed we are to have been referred to the Fertility Center of San Antonio. We are going back in January per their request and even if they did not request it, we would go back on our own. The problem lies when couples are at their “wits end” and it is the last resort to having a biological child. Couples expect the doctors to be miracle workers. They are not miracle workers but they are specialists and nurses who want nothing more than to see you have a child. It is not up to them who has a child and who does not. It...