Next Fertility Salzburg

Treatment in this clinic is limited to the essentials.

The waiting room before the treatment is an imposition. You wait in a “crowded doctor’s room” until the woman is picked up. The man then waits without further information until the next step. The staff is extremely cold and unfriendly.

I give two stars because this doctor is extremely professional and does not do justice to his environment.

After several failed attempts and a private recommendation, we took the step to the Czech Republic (Znojmo).
The environment was much friendlier, actually familiar. You don’t encounter this kind of mass processing there and the treatment is at least on the same level. We are looking forward to our child after years.

My partner and I are self funding clients. After egg stimulation and egg retrieval at this clinic, I ended up in hospital for 10 days with severe ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome and bilateral pleural effusion. My right lung pleura had to be drained or my lung would have collapsed. Over a liter of bloody fluid was removed. I was under the care of several hospital doctors including respiratory and I was needing oxygen as I struggled to breathe and my oxygen saturation levels were dropping to below 90% without oxygen. Without urgent hospital intervention and treatment, I would have died.
The IVF doctor (I will not give his name as I hope he will read this and change his attitude and behaviour) in my opinion was arrogant, did not treat me with dignity, lacks the ability to provide safe care and lacks compassion. In my opinion, I was not carefully monitored while taking the prescribed medications for egg stimulation: no blood tests. Just one scan.
I awoke from egg retrieval with a lot of stabbing pains and feeling very unwell. The doctor, in my opinion, lacks the ability to reflect upon his professional practice and acts very defensively rather than looking at how he could improve himself as a medical doctor. The first red flag was when I had my one and only blood test at this clinic. The doctor put a blood stained paper sheet under my arm. I was repulsed and told him and the assistant it was dirty. There were other instances for cause for concern. But I let these go as my husband works close to the clinic and he wanted to be with me for every appointment. I emailed the doctor when I was admitted to hospital asking how was it that I had become so sick 4 hours post egg retrieval surgery. He blamed me via email for getting severe OHSS with bilateral pleural effusion. Yet he was the one who prescribed me the drugs to take and he did not monitor my bloods during egg stimulation at all. Just so you are all aware, severe OHSS is a rare complication of IVF. Pleural effusion is an even rarer complication of IVF. I would have died without hospital intervention and treatment. It took me 2 months to recover. The last email sent to my husband was the doctor telling him he could not imagine carrying out an embryo transfer on me unless I was heavily sedated. No woman needs to be heavily sedated for an embryo transfer. It is very similar to a PAP smear.
To add, I confided in the IVF doctor before IVF treatment began, that I was a childhood sexual abuse survivor, as I knew that the process of IVF could trigger PTSD. Being admitted for 10 days in hospital, putting on 10kg of fluid around my abdomen in 2 days, struggling to breathe, in severe pain, with nausea and vomiting, hardly being able to walk and having multiple intravenous medications, to include 2 bottles a day of albumin, daily bloods and almost daily cannula being inserted into my veins because the veins kept collapsing, all triggered my PTSD and I suffered panic attacks, anxiety and depression. The emails from the IVF doctor, in my opinion, were callous and cold, as he knew full well about my past suffering as a child. My husband and I were absolutely disgusted by his arrogance and lack of care and compassion and this last email to my husband was the final straw.
Rather than the clinic worrying about my review, consider putting the IVF doctor onto further training and request he reflect about what went wrong in his care of me and why my husband and I left with our embryos to go and be treated by a different IVF specialist and clinic.

Most competent, skilled and wonderful clinic for the most precious wish a couple could have! Best and most empathetic treatment, care taking, and support! We can not thank the whole team enough and can not wait to hold our little wonder in our arms in a few months!

We contacted them and asked for competent and timely help. I absolutely cannot recommend the clinic.

Had contacted and asked for competent and timely help. I cannot recommend the clinic at all. Were able to realize our wish at the Institut Bernabeu

I wanted some information about the treatment. In times of Corona, it is better to clarify beforehand before going to a personal appointment.
By mail that was not at all want. After the initial phone call, more questions arose. This was not answered further. It was pressed for an appointment at which examinations are to be carried out immediately, which will cost €300 – at this appointment the questions will then be answered. Oh well.

Bad service

A really exceptionally good clinic that works calmly and professionally and very individually tailored to the patients. Prof. Dr. Spitzer is an expert who is second to none. The medical assistants are easy to reach, totally helpful and always approachable. I felt very professional and well looked after and would recommend this clinic to any of my friends seeking help. Especially for German couples who want children like us, because the extended blastocyst culture and various other parameters (e.g. IMSI) mean that much more is medically possible here. I perceived the treatment as much more individual than the previous ones in Berlin. All thumbs up!

Addendum:
…especially since here with a single embryo (one of 4 blastocysts) in the 1st attempt, the most beautiful child ever came out after three years of trying to have children. For these little miracles, I will especially thank Dr. Spitzer, be thankful for a lifetime.

In the same year, I had 7 embryos implanted in 3 attempts in a renowned Berlin clinic (including 2 blastocysts in the 1st attempt). Always without success.

I therefore particularly recommend the extended blastocyst culture, which is not possible in Germany with all fertilized egg cells – in Austria (and other countries), on the other hand, it is standard.