Eugene Katz

Dr. Katz has an awkward bedside manner, joking around inappropriately and just saying uncomfortable things sometimes. We would sometimes have a list of questions and he would just tell us to ask the nurses. At our very first visit he asked why we were even trying to use my eggs (I was age 38 at the time). We felt like he never really wanted to give us a chance with them and wasn't invested in the outcome.

I honestly wouldn't go to him unless you're just starting out with fertility treatments and are willing to try a bit without much on the line. If you've already been trying for some time, I'd go to somebody more compassionate and invested.

It felt like SG has one protocol that you get and they will not veer off from it regardless of your specific health history. They were going to continue me with the same protocol just higher dosages even though my eggs grew at different rates. When I asked about trying HGH and maybe testing for some other things, Dr Katz got offended and refused.

BCP for 3 weeks, Gonal F 200mg, Menopur 75-100 mg, Cetrotide at the end, IM trigger shot in the butt. Had 3 fertilized eggs at day 3, only 2 at day 5. We waited til day but neither was a blastocyst so they were discarded and there was no transfer.

Elayne is also kind of blunt, not very warm. I felt like she was overworked. She'd respond by email but sometimes it would take a couple days. If she was off, I had no idea how to get through to somebody. Overall the clinic seemed disorganized. There were 2 nurses who take blood that I really liked and looked forward to seeing.

We thought SG had a good reputation and thought we'd be in good hands. Very quickly on, we realized it wasn't true for us and we didn't have a lot of trust in the clinic. I'd say you need to be a strong advocate for yourself if you're going to go there.

Once I waited 2.5 hours.

Insurance covered most

Dr. Eugene Katz is very knowledgeable in his field. He is a good doctor and knows what he's doing. Whenever treatment failed (i.e., miscarriage) he was patient at our follow up appointment explaining next steps and different options. At no point did we feel like he gave up on us or encourage us to do something we weren't interested in doing. We came prepared with questions and he took the time to patiently answer them, in person. Our treatment has not yet worked, but we've tweaked the process with Dr. Katz every step of the way. His phone manner is fine, not the best but also not the warmest. While it's hard to deliver bad news over the phone, he's got it down pat. It's hard to say whether the bad news affects my opinion of his phone manner.

I would tell prospective patients to come prepared to appointments and be informed of your options going in, so that when the doctor brings something up you're not playing catch up. There is a lot of information at every appointment and it's ok to ask questions. Don't let being overwhelmed keep you from pursuing different options. Don't get bogged down with internet searches that make you second guess your medical professional. Specifically with Dr. Katz, be prepared to see different doctors (whoever is on call) for different procedures like egg retrieval or embryo transfers.

The Shady Grove Towson office is a very busy place and it's often run like a factory. This is good and bad. Due to the sheer volume of patients they provide cycles all year round with monitoring every day of the week including holidays which is convenient. The downside is that the office is missing the "warm" component because they run the office like a business. They try to assign a specific nurse per patient to be your go-to contact in the office, but there is turnover in the nursing staff as well as days off where your assigned nurse isn't there. There is always someone available to answer questions and knows how to look up your chart to give you accurate information, but it doesn't feel they're invested in your success. Dr. Katz himself is a great doctor but he is very busy and not the best on the phone. In person he is very patient and caring, giving you the feeling he's on your side.

We used the antagonist protocol for all five IVF cycles using Menopur, Gonal-F, and Cetrotide. The dosage started out small (i.e., 75 menopur and 300 Gonal-F) and got increased as we got closer to egg retrieval. About six days before scheduled retrieval I started on Cetrotide once daily. For the first four FET and ERA protocols I was on delestrogen 0.2 every three days, PIO daily started after lining check, and prenatal vitamin daily. For the fifth FET protocol in addition to the deletrogen and PIO we added Prednison and Lovenox (anti-inflammatory and blood thinner) .

Since I've been with the clinic several years I have gone through three nurses as they move positions throughout the different Shady Grove offices. In Jan 2016 I was assigned my current nurse and she's been the best so far. When she is out for her scheduled days off she always has an away message on her email and someone monitoring her phone. Information is always relayed promptly and accurately. Emails and messages are always responded to promptly which I greatly appreciate. Beside for my regular nurse, all the backup nurses, lab technicians who draw blood, office staff, etc. are all knowledgeable and friendly. I've never had any issues with any of the nursing staff.

The Shady Grove Towson office has many strengths, including: The front office is organized; there is monitoring every day; the doctors take the time to answer questions; there is ample parking which is validated at the front desk; the location is convenient to me and right off the highway; scheduling is never an issue; professional staff; they are located upstairs from a specialty pharmacy (Austin) which has employees that are amazing to work with; the waiting room is spacious and clean. There are also several weaknesses, such as: long wait times for monitoring appointments sometimes, but especially during weekends or holidays; no "warmth" from staff in treatment. It feels like a sterile environment and that they're not so invested in your success; the financial aspect is difficult depending on which staff member you're talking to - make sure you understand everything and confirm in writing.

Upward of $40,000 to date

Dr. Katz was very adamant about transferring only one embryo. In his opinion the odds do not increase with multiple embryos transferred and that the risk of premature labor with twins/multiples was too great.

At first Dr. Katz was warm and confident. He made us feel as though we were prime candidates for IVF and would be a simple fix. As we went on through our cycles and things came up we felt very mislead. Dr. Katz refused to acknowledge that autoimmune issues play a role in fertility even after I brought him numberous studies he refused to treat my immune system as it pertained to my infertility. He was very cold as the cycles went on. I felt he gave up on me when he said we needed a surrogate but we never tried anything different. He would only stay on the phone for a brief period, it became obvious that my questions were a burden to him. He talked us out of PGS testing and refused to transfer two embryos when I requested it. He told me my children would have CP and hung the phone up on me.

Don't waste your time. If you are not a cookie cutter IVF patient he is not the Doctor for you.

I felt like Dr Katz treated me as a number of a dollar sign. We wanted to PGS our embryos from the beginning but he talked us out of it say "oh, you are young. You'll have no problems" well I miscarried my first fresh 5 day transfer. My beta numbers were low and I got a quick see you in three days. Cycle two was a frozen cycle. I was never informed that my uterine lining thickness was not ideal for transfer but he had me transfer anyways. That cycle ended in a negative beta. Dr. Katz called me said I am sorry your beta is negative, next time. Goodbye and hung up. Less than a 2 min phone call. Cycle three my lining wouldn't thicken but my protocol did not change from cycle two when it didn't thicken either. Before this cycle stated I told Dr. Katz I wanted to transfer two embryos after they were PGS tested he told me my children would have CP and hung up on me. After an extended frozen cycle three and my lining never reaching 8mm Dr. Katz told me I would need a surrogate. I did not fit into a standard protocol and he refused to individualize one for me.

For my stims I used garinerlix, menopur and folistim. Triggered with Lupron. Never received hcg. I had many follicles and was at risk for OHSS. After retrieval I took PIO and Estrace by mouth. I had 25 eggs retrieved 22 mature eggs. 22 fertilized with icsi day 3 I had 14 embryos day 5 I had 8 embryos grade 5AA After PGS we had 3 normal embryos would not reveal gender. For my frozen cycles I took IM delestrogen and PIO. Transfered 1 negative beta. Embryo had 100% cell survival My last frozen cycle we added vaginal estrace to delestrgen. No embryo transfer cycle canceled

Stephanie was nice at first but became annoyed with my questions. Frequently she would send me "out the door" emails with less than desireable news at 5pm on Friday knowing she is leaving and will not return until Tuesday. I found this frustrating. Considering she has been through ivf and losses she was often not compassionate or empathetic to my anxieties.

They typically did get you in an out quickly with the morning monitoring appointments but were not personal. The techs in the morning would not remember your name and after 10 hcg tests to trend my miscarriage the tech still said big day! when she say the hcg on the lab label...no remeber I was here two days ago and reminded you then I was miscarrying. The front desk twice forgot to add me to the schedule. Finance office was great. Wendi the PA also made me feel like I was burdening her, she made filing for my FMLA difficult it took 41 days to have that paperwork completed

We had insurance coverage so it was $2000 up front to meet my deductible. Medication costs with insurance co-pay was about $200. To freeze the remaining embryos $500 PGS was $2000 for Shady Grove and $2500 for FEC $600 "thaw" fee for each frozen cycle

Dr. Katz was strongly against transferring multiple embryos even when requested. It was difficult to get statistics and risks out of him. He told us flat out no.

I'm very happy that I was able to conceive with just one round of IUI so this experience jades my perception of him in a positive manner. Truthfully, I felt like there were certain things that were 'missed' and felt that if I weren't 100% on top of things I may not have gotten pregnant. In short, I felt details were missed.

Stay on top of your care and ask for as much clarification as you need. Ask lots of questions and stay on top of your care!

The clinic itself was very busy. Whenever I spoke with my doctor I never really felt he recalled who I was or the details of my treatment.

Very compassionate, however, disorganized and forgetful. I liked her as a person but felt attention to detail was lacking tremendously which strongly affected my experience.

He communicates well the plan of treatment and changes throughout the course of the treatment. He demonstrated compassion after a failed egg retrieval and informed myself and my husband with the change in our plan.

Take notes, and ask any and all questions you may have along the way.

Dr. Katz was a compassionate doctor, and despite not having a successful pregnancy I would recommend him as a physician to someone dealing with infertility.

Bravelle, Menopur, Gonal F, HCG, ICSI

Clinic was very profession and aesthetically appealing. The staff was courteous and kind during every visit. They demonstrated an interest in our personal journey and desire for success. They were saddened when we didn’t succeed and they want to stay in contact with us despite going to another fertility clinic for our last attempt.

$20000.00