Florida Fertility Institute

He was understanding of our history and what was going on. He went through the whole process and explained everything to me. He didn’t gloss over our issues and he was honest. We were very upset and sad but he assured us that ivf would be the best option to grow our family. He even discussed how some pharmacies have military and veteran discounts and that could assist in lowering cost.

Go in with no expectations and just listen. Things rarely go as plan but he cares about his patients. It may not be the plan you want but they will come up with a care plan that will be what’s best for you.

50 with insurance for visit. IT's $14,300 for ivf with pgt not counting the 150 per testing per embryo. Not counting the $5,000 to $ 7,000 for medications.

He went over the set offs of embryos transferred and chances of multiples. He also discussed risks with multiples. We discussed transferring on verses two embryos

He can be very charismatic until your pay $$$. Then you are of no concern to him. I have low ovarian reserve. I didn't do Dr Google or question his course of action. I followed his instructions and the nurses instructions to a tee. I never questioned anything because I trusted that he knew what he was doing and that he had my best interest in mind. Boy was I wrong! They prescribed me birth control for a couple of cycles before stimulation. (now I know birth control suppresses your ovaries and is terrible for people with low ovarian reserve like me). On stimulation day 6, they did my ultrasound and bloodwork and my follicles were not growing as fast as they expected. The nurse called me that afternoon and said that the doctor told me to not come back till Monday which was day 11 of simulation. I was not monitored for 4 days in the middle of stimulation! The nurse told me the Dr established the exact day for my egg retrieval even though my body wasn't responding the way they wanted. Later I found out that's the day he had the anesthesiologist from the hospital in his clinic and he lined up all his retrievals for the same day. Forget what my body said or my timeline. It was what worked best for his timeline and most cost-effective for him. He never told the nurses or me to take any of the ganirelix that was prescribed and I purchased until after I came back on day 11. By that time, little did I know, the damage was done. When I came in on day 11 of stimulation, I was very bloated and complained that my stomach could not be extended anymore. The doctor never saw me. He didn't say anything. He never called. Looking back at my medical records now, my estrogen levels were through the roof on day 11. He doesn't have any of his patients come in after trigger to do blood work to identify your true estrogen level. If mine was high before the trigger, I can only imagine what it was afterwards. I have had other doctors ask me what my estrogen level was after trigger and they were shocked he didn't check my level. After retrieval, I awoke from anesthesia and threw up immediately 2X while still on the table from the pain. He never came back in the room to check on me. I literally left his clinic after egg retrieval hunched over and couldn't stand up straight. He never called me that afternoon to check on me. I went to the hospital for 6 days. He NEVER called. He didn't even care to call other doctors that were calling him asking him how to take care of me and if this was a normal reaction to egg retrieval and what to do. His professional manner was so bad, my OBGYN told me she will never refer another patient to him or his practice again. Dr Sanchez also told us that we didn't need ICSI and that my husband's sperm was great. Out of the 6 eggs I had left on day 2 only 3 had fertilized and I had a 50% fertilization rate. If we had done ICSI, I now know it would have been much higher and I would have had a greater chance at growing more embryos to 5 days. When we met with him after my hospital stay and I was still extremely sore, he asked to examine me. All he did was lay me down on his examining table and press on my lower abdomen and I was in so much pain. His response was like, yeah that's normal. He then smiled and told my husband that it would all be ok because women like me that over stimulate and end up in the hospital always end up pregnant. I left the clinic so upset that he gave my husband this false promise. I knew the odds and with only 1 embryo, they were not in my favor. He also runs a lot of clinical trials out of his office. I saw many people waiting in the waiting room every time I was there. I was shocked since there are only 2 doctors, 2 IVF nurses. Looking back, it seems like all he cares about is the $Money$ Money from patients. Money from clinical trials Money from students waitng room - clinical trails

RUN AWAY! Interview 2 or more clinics. Read reviews. If you need anything more than the basic IVF, he is not the doctor for you. The clinic is very disorganized. His protocol is the same no matter what your circumstances are. Also, I was never given a saline sonogram to determine my uterine cavity. This is a basic test that is extremely beneficial for implantation.

I stated with Birth Control. They had me taking DHEA 25 mg 3 X daily. Prenatal vitamin daily. Baby Asprin daily. I took an antibiotic. (Doxyclycline in the middle of stimulations for 10 days) 225 of Follistim Daily at night 3 bottles of Menopur at night. My stimulation medication was high and the nurse originally said he would probably adjust it but he never did. I was prescribed 5 shots of ganirelix but was only told to take 1 shot on day 11 of stimuation. Trigger was HCG Novarel. I don't recall any special treatment strategies other than my high amount of stimulation drugs. The results were I was overstimulated. I ended up in the hospital with OHSS with low ovarian reserve (which should never happen) I had 10 follicles with 10 eggs at retrieval. 2 were immature, 2 died, 6 were fertilized naturally. 3 grew into embryos and only 1 made it to 5 day but was not able to be PGS tested even though we paid for it in advance.

IVF $6450 Anesthesia $400 ICSI - $1,500 *Optional Assisted Hatching - $680 *Optional Cryopreservation - $950 & annual storage $360 - both must be paid if you have any embryos to freeze. Facility Fee $2,400 They charge 2% for credit card transactions. All the bloodwork was charged to my insurance. All medications are paid to the pharmacy.

He never discussed this. We didn't know this and he never brought it up during initial consultation. After my retrieval, there was no point, since I only had 1 embryo.

Dr. Sanchez after reviewing my medial records from the other 2 clinics before i saw him, the first thing he said to me was, where is your diagnosis? I had been seen by previous doctors for almost 2 years and 3 failed IUIs and they never diagnosed my problem. Dr. Sanchez said the first thing we need to find out it's what's wrong so I can help you. At that point i just started crying because i knew I had found the right doctor. Dr. Sanchez diagnosed me with a severe case of PCOS. I also have uterine fibroids, which is very consistent with women with PCOS.

The most important thing in this lonely and painful journey of infertility is to have a doctor that is honest, trustworthy and kind. I found that in Dr. Sanchez. If your doctor lacks does 3 things, it's time to move on. Don't wait!

After 6 cycles of clomid, 3 cycles or Letrasol, 3 failed IUIs. I finally made it to the care of Dr. Sanchez and we both agreed that IVF was going to be the next step. While going through the beginning stages of IVF. Dr. Zbella (Dr. Sanchez partner, who works at Florida Fertility. An amazing doctor as well), found a massive fibroid, half the size of my uterus to be exact. At that point I had to suspend the IVF cycle and had surgery to remove it. I had the open myomectomy on June 1, 2018. I had to wait 3 months for my uterus to heal and in September I was back to see Dr. Sanchez. I was put on birthday control for 1 month to regulate my period and to monitor my cycle. Then, I started prenatal vitamins, 1 baby aspirin a day (to increase blood flow to the uterus) and Lupron. In 9 days I was ready for the trigger shot. I also was taking the antibiotic Doxycline. Then Egg retrieval. I was at the clinic for the procedure where 13 eggs were collected from my ovaries. I was as asleep and the procedure took about 20 minutes. Out of the 13 eggs 3 made to PGS testing. I had two normal embryos and one abnormal. My husband and i decided to transfer only 1 frozen embryo and continue to freeze the second. We were confident that everything was going to work. I had responded very well to the meds and everything was going just as Dr. Sanchez described it. Unfortunately, the IVF cycle failed and i had a negative pregnancy test. As sad as i was, i knew that my husband and I had followed the instructions perfectly. I did everything how i was suppose to, it just did not work. I am now emotionally healing, resting and saving (yes, saving. My insurance doesn't covered IVF. All our expenses have been out of pocket). We are excited to try again soon.

The IVF cycle without meds was $12,600.

Dr. Sanchez gave us the option of transferring the two available embryos because of my age. However, after considering the risk of multiple pregnancies, we decided to just transfer one.

Me and my significant other have had trouble conceiving so we decided it was time to find out why after having a bad experience with a prior doctor.after researching we decided to go with Dr Zella for fertility help. At our first meeting Dr Zbella had went through my history from precious medical records. He explained to me what he thought the issue was and why. It was decided IVF was the best route. He explained the entire process from beginning to end with every single detail. He answered all questions without hesitation. He did not give false hope. During our hour and a half meeting he never tried to rush us out the door. He took the time to listen to every single concern, issue and questions we had. I would highly recommend him to anyone.

Trust the process. Never give up. Stay positive. Find a support group. You never have to go through the journey alone.

Our treatment is IVF. His four step process included- Ovarian stimulation. used medication to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple follicles. Then monitored follicular growth by ultrasound to determine egg growth and uterine lining development. When appropriately matured a trigger shot of HCG is administered. Egg retrieval by ultrasound is performed in office. Sperm specimen is washed and prepared for insemination. The washed sleep is placed in a dish with the eggs and incubated for 18 hours. The embryos are observed for normal fertilization. The final step involves transferring embryos into the uterus via catheter through the cervix.

The office had different financing companies that they worked with for fertility. All the cost was explained upfront. And the coordinator helped with the knowledge on how to receive financial assistance. 1 round of IVF was around $15,000

Dr Sanchez is very good communicator. He makes you feel very comfortable. He explains every detail of the treatment and I can tell he was very knowledgeable in the subject of IVF. I never felt rushed or overwhelmed after a visit with him.

Be very open with him about your situation, treatment and expectations. Bring a list of questions. He will answer all of them.

In my case, we tried full IVF, he went very aggressive in medications. Maximun dosage of Menopur and Gonal F (225iu for each). Unfortunately, we had to cancel the cycle due to poor response. I have an appt with dr Sanchez next week to follow up on next steps.

Dr Sanchez advice was to do single embryo transfer, which I fully agreed.

Dr. Sanchez explained each step of our treatment in detail. He kept looking for an answer when results came back normal. He is compassionate and dedicated to helping his patients. We first saw Dr. Sanchez after our 3 miscarriage. He did many rounds of testing and eventually found male factor infertility.

He is very honest and straightforward with the treatment and your situation. He does not “sugar coat” anything.

Dr. Sanchez recommended we do an IUI with femara and a shot to trigger ovulation.

I had no issues. He gave me realistic answers without making me feel like anything was a guaranteed success. I was told that my chances we're always 47% chance of success with either a fresh or frozen cycle. He said my endometriosis is not what is causing infertility with research he did himself to backup his thoughts.

He does not tell you things to make you feel good. He gives you realistic advice without false hope, which I liked.

Menopur Follistim Lupron Trigger Shot

I could choose a time within a specific time range.

That depends on what my insurance covers and what it doesn't.

2

We went to Dr.Zbella hoping to be part of a clinical trial that we unfortunately ended up not qualifying for. From the very beginning I made sure to express the fact that without the trial we couldn’t afford IVF. I fully expected to be be judged or treated like a “non paying” patient going in seeking the trial but that was never once the case. When we didn’t qualify to participate I expected to be pushed into taking out a loan etc and that was also never the case. Dr.Zbella treated us with upmost respect, compassion, and patience.

Don’t hesitate at all to make him your doctor

We unfortunately did not go through with the IVF process because we couldn’t afford it.

Office visit and diagnostics were partially covered by my insurance. Self pay consult cost is $300.

Not related to our treatment

Edward Zbella is a strait forward doctor, he will explain to you what he will do how he will do it and really trustworthy. He will always be there for any question or concern you may have. We came to his office knowing what we need it to do and he walk us through it and change your mind process when we thought nothing could have been done.

Listen to everything he tells you he know what he is doing.

The treatment cost change a little since my insurance cover a portion of the medication. But overall I think I spend about $10,000 and we got the result that we wanted

He took his time in explaining the surgical procedure and what to expect during and afterwards. I got a Tubal reversal October 2018 and was pregnant by February 1,2019. Dr Zbella said wait 3 months let my body heal and I listened and got pregnant my first round of TTC and My Husband and I are very very happy and blessed.

Be calm, Listen and ask all questions that you need answers to then wait for your miracle.

I had a Tubal Reversal and it was an outpatient procedure. I was relaxed an was comfortable going in getting prepared for surgery the doctor and nurses were all super nice an made sure I was calm I remember waking up with minimal pain An was assisted with a nurse right by my bed side. This was October 2018, I was told by dr Zbella to wait 3 months before TTC to allow my body to heal and we did just that and on the 3rd month we got pregnant TTC the first time now my husband and I are super excited waiting to welcome another child.

$6,000

Dr. Sanchez explained our fertility issues and what options we had. He took the time to make sure we understood what we were up against as well as the iui procedure. I felt very comfortable having him as my doctor. He was very nice and very professional.

I took clomid and had a trigger shot of ovidril for both of my IUI’s. The first iui was negative. The second iui resulted in a chemical pregnancy.

97.65 598.76 procedure 382.50 74.53 lab work 53.89 lab work 165.71 July 13 lab work 382.50 July 12 201.76 April 24 84.07 May 22 179.52 April 26 99.24 May 21 81.60 May 25 61.20 June 13 194.33 April 19

Dr. Sanchez was up front and honest about all our testing and treatments. He has a good sense of humor keeping the visits light but still in a professional manner. I would recommend him to anyone looking for infertility treatment.

He will tell you how it is, good or bad, so you need to be prepared for the truth.

My first round was the minimum dosage. We ended up with 2 embryos, did a fresh transfer, got a positive, but ended in chemical pregnancy. The second round my meds were doubled. We ended up with 3 embryos and froze all. The next 2 transfers ended up negative. Dr. Sanchez recommended a blood panel and Endometrial Receptivity Assay (ERA). The ERA told us that I was one of 20% of women who had a pre-receptive lining and we should be transferring the embryos 2 days later. My third egg retrieval we ended up with 5 embryos. The ERA was correct and I am now 8 weeks pregnant, saw the heartbeat last week 😁!

Our first round was covered with the exception of about $5000. Our second and third were not and were roughly 15,000 each (including 4 embryo transfers).

We were given a choice to transfer 1 or 2. There was no pressure either way.

Mark was upfront and honest about our options. He laid out potential solutions to our infertility issues and helped us determine the best choice for our family. He let us ask questions, provided us with a roadmap & timing, explained the risks & costs. He made us feel like he was vested in the success of our treatment plan.

Continue to do what you do.

I went through a fresh transfer during my first IVF cycle. Dr. Sanchez was very careful and kept a close watch on many elements within my blood to ensure things were aligned in order for us to fresh transfer. We transferred two embryos and both took. My second cycle was a frozen transfer. We only transferred one embryo and it has taken as well.

My insurance covered a good portion of my IVF cycles. During the first cycle I had approximately $5,000 out of pocket, my second cycle was around $3,000.

I agree with Dr. Sanchez's approach to single and multiple transfer. We took his advice on both IVF cycles.

Dr Zbella made me feel at ease, I had seen a few other doctors and they made me nervous. He took the time to ge to know me and my husband and didn't jump straight to talking money. He welcomed us with a smile and had a very personable demeanor.

Do know that he works with a partner and you may see that doctor if Zbella is occupied or out of the office.

I was first put on a high dosage of clomid to see if he could get me to ovulate on my own. I was also scheduled for a pr to see if my tubes were blocked. He also had me do some bloodwork to check on my hormones. The clomid did not work so we then began to discuss IVF. He didn't have me try clomid again because I had already tried it with previous doctors. My AMH level was extremely high so my next and only option was IVF. This was due to the fact I was at a very high risk for OHSS and multiples. He had my husband's sperm also tested to rule out any other complications.

My insurance does not cover infertility unfortunately. This is my first cycle and it has cost us about $14,000.

I am currently in the next phase of IVF getting ready for my transfer. It is up to my husband and I if we would like to transfer 1 or 2 embryos. He suggested not doing anymore than 2 due to the risk of multiples.

Dr Sanchez was willing to meet with me to discuss any of my concerns at any step in the process. He was candid about the situation, kept expectations reasonable, and was quick to tell me when I was stressing out unnecessarily which was exactly what I needed to hear!

Don't expect him to coddle you, he'll tell you the truth about what's going on and what to expect with your particular situation.

Dr Sanchez started with the typical HSG and blood work, which revealed a tubal blockage. In light of appearing to have one open tube, he recommended IUI with clomid. Following two failed IUIs I sat down with him again to discuss options and decided, with his candid input, to pursue IVF which resulted in five day 5 cryopreserved embryos. Our first transfer (two embryos) resulted in a singleton pregnancy (still in progress).

The costs were very clearly stated for each step of the process. There were no surprise fees at any point (which of course is a huge fear with something as expensive and involved as IVF).

I was told that at my age (under 30), my options were one to two embryos only. It was explained very clearly to me why this was, in relation to the risk of multiples.

Dr. Sanchez works with an amazing team at Florida Fertility Institute. Although he has not completed all of my tests and procedures I always feel like I am in good hands. Everyone at the practice explains everything that they are doing and ensures that you do not leave with any questions. Dr. Sanchez has great bedside manner, we even find ourselves laughing during our visits. He is able to take these uncomfortable visits and make them light and friendly. Every time we meet with Dr. Sanchez whether it is for a consolation, a test, or a procedure we feel like he has our best in mind and helps us make the most educated decisions.

Relax before your first visit. My husband and I were nervous and unsure what to expect before our initial consultation with Dr. Sanchez. He immediately put my nerves at rest, spoke to us like people, and began to explain what what going on and what our many option were going forward.

When my husband and I went to our initial consultation there was no reason that we were unable to get pregnant. So the first thing Dr. Sanchez did was run tests. I had all of my labs run and an HSG my husband also had his sperm checked. Everything came back fine. So we tried naturally for a few more months. Then we went back into meet with Dr. Sanchez and we decided to move onto IUI. We ran 3 rounds of IUI with clomid and still nothing so I had an SHG, again absolutely nothing wrong. So now we're preparing for IVF. There is still no reason that we are not getting pregnant so we are very hopeful that IVF will help us conceive.

I do not have health insurance for infertility. For our IUI we paid approximately $1,000. There are many options for IVF and we are currently deciding on a one time option or a money back guarantee option (includes 3 cycles).

He is very knowledgeable and straightforward, but also personable and connects with his patients. My husband and I both liked him and felt comfortable going there for our procedures. Our senses of humor also matched well.

Ask all of your questions. He will answer them. And he prepared for a joke which may or may not be funny. But he will think it is.

We did a fairly standard IVF with ICSI protocol as our first and only successful round. The others were part of a study - the IVY study, which did not work for me.

I didn’t remember the exact costs but it was in the 13k range, not counting meds.

Our embryos were not great quality so we put in 3. We felt that was the right choice and he would’ve done 2 or 3.

We saw Dr. Sanchez over the course of several months for treatment. He explained diagnosis and treatment options to us every step of the way. He was compassionate and funny. One visit we had to bring our 4 year old daughter( she was sick and out of school) and he even put cartoons on the TV while we had our consult and gave her a stuffed animal to keep. Yes he did have a resident in training with him; but i took that to mean he is knowledgeable enough to be teaching our future Drs. in the field. We are elated, after several miscarriages we are almost ready to have our miracle baby. I cannot thank Dr. S. enough! If you haven't gotten the results, treatment or compassion from other Fertility Drs. then run, don't walking go see Dr. Sanchez!

See Him ASAP!

He’s a charismatic guy that can lighten the mood. However, we felt like he overexaggerated our chances of pregnancy with IVF so we jumped right in. We often didn’t see him during our treatments and there was never an explanation for a change of treatment. It was more a “sorry about your luck”

Make sure he’s covering all bases and not just putting you on the “fertility escalator” that will cost you $50k and leave you with no baby and no answers

Three IUIs with clomid. 1st was positive but chemical pregnancy. Next two IUIs were negative. His answer wasn’t more testing, his answer was IVF for which he gave us a 60% chance. IVF meds were on the lower end and I did not experience any complications. He was rarely around for any IVF appts. Fresh transfer with two embryos was negative. Frozen transfer of two embryos was positive but chemical pregnancy. We never met with him again because they wanted another $250 for a follow up appointment.

Monitoring appts were the best part because the ultrasound tech was a sweetheart!

IUIs were under $1000. My IVF cost. Around $18,000

After 3 years of treatments w/ this office I learned that I was diagnosed with DOR (diminished ovarian reserve) ONLY by reading through my records which were mailed to another clinic. This dx was given in 2016. I would have not continued with treatment using my own eggs @ this point. Further after 4 RE's I learned that being a carrier for Fragile X increases my chances of DOR, Miscarriage and poor embryos/egg quality. I was beginning to feel like this clinic did not care about my outcome but only wanted my money as well as insurance payment after my 3rd loss. I have wasted over 35K with this clinic only to find out that I needed either donor eggs or donor embryo's.

Demand testing, demand to be able to review your chart and be your own advocate. More importantly, go find ANOTHER clinic.

10 IUIs w/ either clomid or injectable medications. Antagonist IVF protocol 1 chemical, 1 MC of twins & 1 MC of a singleton

You could schedule any time that was convenient for you.

over 35k

None

He was always very nice, but sometimes felt a little condescending. He gave mostly overviews and left specifics of treatment to the IVF coordinater and finances to the billing department. He was completely open and supportive of my decision to be a single mother by choice. Overall the experience with him was positive.

Make sure to write down specific questions. He tents to give broad strokes of information so I sometimes felt unsure about each individual step.

Since I had low AMH he recommended we go straight to IVF. My medications were pretty aggressive, meopur and follistim. The first cycle was cancelled due to poor response. For the second cycle we added human growth hormone prior to and overlapping with the stim medicines. When the five day ultrasound showed poor response again we converted to IUI and triggered for the one mature follicle. Since that try was not successful he recommended either donor eggs, which they can do, or donor embryos, which would require me to go elsewhere.

There was an initial consultation charge of about $200 then a flat fee for the remainder of treatment, not including medications, of $10,750 plus $500 fee since I financed some of it. After two cycles, one cancelled due to poor performance and the second converted to IUI again because of poor response I was able to request a refund of my unused funds, $8949. Or that could have been used towards a different course of treatment.

I never got that far

As previously indicated, he managed our expectations like a professional, warning us of potential risks, guiding us through best practices, and always answering every question with sincerity. On our first transfer, the embryos did not latch, which could've have happened for a number of reasons (they were too weak, my wife was more active than she should've been...who knows), and Dr. Sanchez prepared us for the possibility that despite all of the injections, all of the hormones, all of the financial obligation, all of the stress, that there is a chance that pregnancy may not occur. It is devastating receiving that phone call. Yet, in Dr. Sanchez's hands, we always felt reassured. When he performed the transfer of our frozen embryo, he seemed as emotionally invested in our success as we were. There was a moment before the transfer that I remember specifically, where he nodded his head and closed his eyes for a moment (possibly to pray, or meditate, or just get in the proper headspace), and witnessing this put a strange calm over me. Lo and behold, our baby was born beautiful, healthy, and perfect. We can never thank Dr. Sanchez enough, and only hope someday we can afford to see him again to give our child a sibling. We trust him without question.

Listen to him attentively, trust his counsel, and follow his instructions meticulously.

We went three rounds: The first was IUI; although there was a number of hormone injections and medicines involved, the second was a two embryo transfer, and the third was the frozen embryo transfer that we cryogenically preserved from the first egg retrieval and insemination. I cannot recall the names of the medications/injections right now; although, we researched them intensively at the time. There were also dietary requirements, like extra Folic Acid, and added Estrogen.

All three attempts including all injections for all three times, all visits, egg retrieval, IUI, two embryo transfers, cryo freezing the embryo, and everything else fell below $30,000 I think. Important to remember that just one round of injections was around $7,500, I think...so, all in all, it was what we expected. Possibly less. I am ballparking.

We had three embryos. We asked why we were not inserting all three at once, and Dr. Sanchez explained enough potential risks to convince us to only use 2 at first and freeze the third. this turned out to be the right advice because the third one turned out to be our baby boy.

Dr. Sanchez explained to my husband exactly how the IUI process worked and drew us a very nice picture of the time table of when to take certain injections, when the IUI would be done or not done if I was not responding correctly. Before the IUI, he explained different scenarios about an IUI and how the medicine could affect my body. After the IUI, I hyperstimulated, when I met with him, he was understanding and sympathetic but positive and made me feel better about the diagnosis.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. He is happy to make sure that you understand exactly what is going on.

First round we used a combination of Follistim and Menopur. I don't ovulate on my own so they were really trying to get my system working. My body responded very quickly and so I stopped taking the Follistim. First round didn't work. Second round, we started on a low dose of Follistim only. My body was responding but levels were not as high as they should be so the dosage of Follistim was raised. Second round worked:)

My insurance does not cover fertility treatments, so I had to pay it all out of pocket. My insurance did cover part of the fertility medication. I did not compare the cost of IUI to other clinics but I thought that it was reasonable for fertility treatments.