Cedars-Sinai Fertility and Reproductive Medicine Center

By far, Dr. Pisarska is the best and kindest physician that I have ever encountered and I threw many curveballs at her that didn’t make me the easiest patient. I feel incredibly lucky that I came across her, had her as my attending physician managing my care, and would recommend her to any woman thinking about fertility treatments. I had a personal situation and came to her needing to urgently complete a cycle of embryo freezing. I had just finished a prior cycle at another clinic where I had a horrible experience. At the other clinic, I think they probably knew my insurance member ID better than they knew my name. At the other clinic, I felt like I was viewed not even as a number but as a dollar sign. Dr. Pisarska, and her fellow Dr. Van Hise, and Dr. Jessica Chan restored my faith in physicians and demonstrated a care for me as a patient that I rarely encounter nowadays. For context, I came to Dr. Pisarska for an embryo freezing cycle before I was going to be laid off. At any clinic, fertility treatments usually take a little while of initial consultations, tests, and review of results from the tests prior to proceeding. After an initial consultation, I messaged her explaining that I desperately needed to start a cycle within the next few days for personal reasons. Dr. Pisarska, and her fellow Dr. Van Hise moved mountains to get everything ready in time so I could proceed. I wasn’t just a number or potential billing, they took the time to get to know me, ease any fears, immediately answer any questions, and watched over me throughout the entire process. She never rushed through any consult, always was very responsive, checked in consistently via messages or phone calls, and made great accommodations for me so I could be able to do the embryo freezing cycle. She reviewed test results at any time of day or night and immediately let me know results or if the plan was changing, this included on national holidays and her own personal holiday. There wasn’t a single day during the cycle where I didn’t receive an instant response to a message sent. In my past experience, most clinics will initially have you meet the physician then have you start injections and only interact with a coordinator and the physician seems to disappear until the day of your procedure. I’ve gone through this a few times. Dr. Pisarska never disappeared during any point of the process. From someone who has gone through a fertility procedure three times now and has seen over ten different fertility specialists to find the best one, she is the best there is and I am so grateful I had her manage my care.

Let my extensive searching, over a dozen fertility clinic consults, discussions on fertility boards, and research on clinic outcomes help you save time. Dr. Pisarska will be there with you every step of the way with the best care. It’s not an easy process so take it from a former patient that has had other procedures previously at other clinics, if you want someone who truly cares about you, helping you with your fertility journey, go with Dr. Pisarska. Many clinics will treat you incredibly well at the first consultation, they’ll prepare you a latte while they quickly rush through the necessary requirements so they can bill your insurance. After the first consultation and you’ve agreed to move forward, the physician just disappears into thin air until it’s time for the procedure. Dr. Pisarska will be with you every single step of the way and every single day.

It's hard to know if it's Dr. Wang as a doctor, or rather the structure that exists within cedars as an organization that left me feeling so crappy about our experience with them. In our consultations, of which there were two, she was very present and took time to explain the process in front of us, but beyond that she was an almost entirely absent doctor.

I would advise them to find a different doctor who is afforded the time to actually treat them.

Clomid IUI, letrozole (that didn't work), clomid IUI.

About $700 all in all, after copays. 3 medicated cycles and 2 IUIs.

Dr. Pisarska, after reviewing my husband’s sperm analysis, told us “not to waste our time or money on IVF.” She ordered tests that were later deemed unnecessary by our subsequent fertility doctor, costing us thousands unnecessarily. We think (pure speculation) that she may have been holding our religious beliefs and/or my husband’s prior addiction against us. We went on to have two successful embryo transfers using our own eggs and sperm (transfer 1 and 2) with another doctor.

Don’t settle for a doctor based purely on the name of the hospital. If you feel she doesn’t have your best interest at heart, find a doctor that does. Also, if you hear from others in the infertility community that she is negative and lacks understanding and compassion, heed their warnings.

She wanted my husband to have his testicles cut open to retrieve sperm. Thankfully the doctor she referred us to said it was unnecessary. Our final fertility doctor (in another state) couldn’t believe she had suggested the procedure based on his analyses.

We wasted tons of money on unnecessary testing ordered by Dr. Pisarska. Our final fertility doctor (in another state) couldn’t believe the testing she had us go through. He said some of the tests were considered laughable in the infertility community. He also said she had my husband tested for things they only tested females for? We wasted thousands of dollars, according to our subsequent doctor.

Strengths - sharp, experienced, explained the why behind different courses of action. Weaknesses - took some time to get an appointment because there are only two doctors running the clinic at Cedars. The financials are a little obscure. They will give you a packet describing some out of pocket costs if you don’t have fertility coverage through insurance but I’m not sure who one would contact for more specific questions. It didn’t have the same feel as the private clinics in terms of the hand holding through the ins and outs of the process and the billing.

prepare your questions ahead of time

We discussed next step strategies that included a hysteroscopy to check for any adhesions or scars and doing an ERA because we had two failed PGS tested embryo transfers. Dr. Wang was good at drawing a distinction between what to do after the hysteroscopy and ERA depending on what each showed. She therefore gave multiple strategy ideas based on how things played out.

I was not quoted any costs at the time of my consultation.

Erica Wang is conservative in treatment, your overall health is of utmost importance, she is optimistic and gives hope even when dealing with the difficult topic of infertility. She is very clear in her explanations and why certain treatments are being chosen over others, she values your voice in discussing overall treatment plan and care.

Have your questions ready, she is great about going through each question and making sure everyone is on the same page

First 2 IUIs was with letrozole , with letrozole being chosen because it showed more success with PCOS. Next 7 IUIs was with clomid because my body responded better to the Clomid. Next was an egg retrieval cycle that would be a frozen embryo transfer after genetic testing. Started with Estrace prior to cycle day one, then ultrasound on cycle day 2 and started injections that night. The injection protocol was 2 injections the first few nights, then added another to ward off ovulation, then trigger shot prior to egg retrieval. Unfortunately the egg retrieval did not produce embryos for transfer.

All IUIs were covered under insurance. Egg retrieval was around 6,000 for the clinic care, additional costs for retrieval clinic

Dr. Wang is more conservative and prefers single embryo transfers

Dr. Pisarska is aware of her practice and has a great load of knowledge. But as a patient I did not receive that compassionate warmth from her. She can be a great educator and a good resource to her patients, but not someone to provide infertility treatments as it’s a sensitive topic.

Don't walk into the office expecting to be greeted as a "fertility" patient. The office atmosphere feels cold and not welcoming. She is always way too busy to have a direct conversation with her patients.

I was put on clomid on both of my IUI's. Based on her experience she recommended to have back to back IUI's to result in pregnancy. WRONG!!! that wasn't the case and it did not result in pregnancy as to her hopes.

An estimate of $3,800 for IUI

I did not do embryo transfer with this doctor.

She's very nice but not everything was tested and she accidentally did an insemination during a cycle where I ovulated 5 follicles and I had to pay for the ultrasound to figure out that they messed that one up. She also still thought I could get pregnant that cycle when my estrogen was crashing. She never prescribed estrogen to thicken my lining and never did ultrasounds the day of IUI.

Pay closer attention and get out of Cedars. The staff are terrible and the billing is problematic for a patient base that is by and large cash.

First cycle was a natural IUI cycle. The second was a clomid and IUI cycle and the third was also clomid and IUI

Inconsistant. They depended upon the length of the appointment and the questions asked, not the service provided. An ultrasound didn't have a cost, it had a range. I was never sure what to expect. Also I was a cash patient and every time I paid in cash, something got confused with the office. Then something else got confused with the hospital and I would get bills for thousands of dollars that were 1) inaccurate and 2) based on appointments that were already paid for.

I'm very into my fertility treatment, so it's hard to give a full review at this point. But she has been very thorough so far in her testing and explaining to me all of the options available given my current health status. She's easily accessible and presents information in a clear manner.

I've followed all of her medical advice thus far and am happy with the way my treatments are going! So I would say trust her, she has not steered me wrong.

I'm on my first month of Letrozole/trigger shot/timed intercourse. After my first round of Letrozole, I have 3 eggs ready to go! I have not had a period since going off birth control pills 16 months ago, and she believes I have mild PCOS. So far we are getting the results we are seeking, which is ovulation.

My insurance covered all testing leading up to treatment, as I came into her office with a "medical" problem, of not having a period. The medication she prescribed has been about $250/month and $50 copay for ultrasounds.

n/a

Dr. Chan is very patient and explains everything thoroughly. She is always available to answer questions, even after hours. She has a wonderful bedside manner and is able to give it to you straight, but in a compassionate way. I experienced a missed abortion and Dr. Chan was so empathetic and compassionate, but also very honest about what was happening (no sugar coating), which I appreciate.

Second IVF cycle used 150 menopur and 300 gonalF. Also used steroid and growth hormone, which wasn’t used for my first cycle. Ended up with 2 good embryos, which was an improvement from the first cycle where I didn’t get any.

One cycle of IVF at least $25-35k. Much more expensive than clinics in the area. I am getting bills for visits that occurred almost a year ago. With such a delay, it’s very difficult to track services with associated bills.

She was patient in answering all my questions however in my situation there are things no one can explain. She wanted to jump into IVF, but I still wanted to try naturally since the odds were still in my favor.

Have money so you can afford her complete services. My insurance only covers half.

Vaginal progesterone with sex, saline ultra sound, hysteroscopy with possible scar tissue removal, genetics testing, sperm analysis and clomid.

Nothing so far.

Dr. Chan is warm, but not fake or overly optimistic. She's kind and is willing to consider your input. I have some medical knowledge and she takes that into account and doesn't talk down to you, which was extremely important to me.

Ask questions! She will explore anything with you and find out if she doesn't know.

I did several medicated cycles (timed intercourse) with her, followed by several IUIs. We tried Clomid and Femara. No luck, but I'm a tough case and I wasn't expecting much. I'm now gearing up for IVF.

She was patient, knowledge and highly skilled. I had two successful pregnancies thru her care.

Listen to her... she knows what she's doing!

She answered all questions and is highly experienced and skilled. She is knowledgeable and a leader in her field. She listened to me and was thorough and thoughtful in her responses. I appreciated her optimism, honesty, and availability.

Ask all of the questions any time!