Dr. Valerie Sue Ratts, MD

I feel she is an angel sent from Heaven! Thank you for my son!

I wanted to like her, since I think highly of the Barnes docs, but she was so condescending I walked out of every appointment feeling bad. You can't raise concerns or talk to her about options, other than her advice, without her getting defensive and downright insulting. She didn't believe my report of side effects from fertility drugs. I regret I stuck with her as long as I did.

Took my teen to see her for pelvic pain that has been consistent for several months. Very tender even to the touch. The doctor asked to talk to my 14 year alone and told her the pain was due to stress and she needed to see a therapist to talk things out. She is not stressed, but I am now! She has no concern for what the patient is experiencing. Needless to say we are moving on to another doctor.

I had an ovarian torsion (twisted ovary) in 2009 and was directed to Dr. Ratts to make sure I wouldn't have problems with my ovaries so that in the future I would be able to have kids. I was diagnosed with Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome. If i ever had a question I would have to make an appointment and wait months to finally be able to ask her and pay her for that one question. She never checked my ovaries, never gave me an ultrasound. All she did was prescribe medication and never check how I was feeling. two weeks ago I went to the ER feeling pelvic pains it turns out I had a cyst that was 7 in. I followed up with another OB/GYN and he noticed it had grown ( he did more than she ever had by giving me ultrasound and checking on me afterwards). I was scheduled for surgery and it again had grown. I had had an appointment with Dr. Ratts in May and earlier appointments she had said she would take a look but never did. I went into surgery and they found what they had thought a cyst was… actually a tumor. basically a cyst that turned into a tumor. They were able to take out the tumor but I lost my ovary. Months of going to Dr. Ratts to save my ovary led to nothing but losing my ovary and spent money. please don't make the same mistake I made. I thought I could trust this doctor but ended up losing more.

I began working with Dr. Ratts, or rather, her nurses, for infertility treatments. Aside from the initial consultation, which was a vey basic description of tests they would do and her already-decided course of treatment based on her assumption of my diagnosis, you will never see Dr. Ratts. I didn't stay with Dr. Ratts long enough to know how involved she is in the IVF process, but for initial treatment with medications, ultrasounds, and IUI, I never saw her. She never called to check on me, she never came to one of my appointments, never followed up. Her nurses are very nice. But overall, the office doesn't give you a lot of information about what they're observing - no numbers, no data, just basic "it looks good" or "it's just fine" or "it is within the range we're looking for." The final straw came when I wanted to schedule a consultation before moving forward after several months of treatment. The next available appointment Dr. Ratts had for a consultation was 3 weeks out! … Infertility is a very time-sensetive issue and not one where an EXISTING PATIENT should have to wait 3 weeks for a consultation. Prices were reasonable - and maybe that's why she gets away with her non-existent bedside manner:Ultrasound - $280IUI - $342My recommendation: do not go to this doctor, there are others in the St. Louis area!

We have been through 1-surgery and 3-IVF attempts over the past year. Initially we thought we were in the right place but soon learned otherwise. The physicians share "IVF call" and depending on the MD on-call that week will be the person who is making medication adjustments, perfroming egg retreival, and doing embryo transfer. We got to see Dr. Ratts 2 times over a period of a year-for the initial consultation and before surgery! The majority of your care is done over the phone and through a nurse as a messenger. The RE's at BJH are unwilling to think outside the box and are strictally academic. They are not in private practice so they could care less if you come back or not. After our failed IVF attempts we had many questions and instead of getting good quality feedback or suggestions (which was done on the phone by the way), we felt like we wrong for asking questions. We asked to see the doctor in follow-up and we were told it would be 3 months to get an appointment. If you… had success with her that is great news but there are better RE's in the St. Louis area. It is known that one of the most important factors in IVF success in the embryo transfer. At BJH you will a different MD to your transfer every time. It is dumbfounding how Dr. Ratts is considered a top RE. Oh and good luck getting a good explaination from anyone there. Also there are a couple of US tech's there who are totally burnt out and there attitude is awful. Trust me people - I have been a health care provider for many years and I would urge you to think elsewhere if you are dealing with infertility.

First of all, I am sorry I am writing a negative review, because I am usually a positive person. I am so upset with the service I received not only from Dr. Ratts, but her staff member that is in charge of insurance. I knew with my GHP insurance, I had to get everything approved ahead of time due to fertility issues. I called my insurance, and the staff member at Dr. Ratts office said everything was good with my insurance, so I went ahead with an appointment. My first clue should have been the 90 minutes wait. There were two other couples waiting, so this could explain the 10 minutes Dr. Ratts spent with me. Yes, I said 10 minutes. It was all so very ridiculous and disheartening. Well, I received a bill in the mail, and I am responsible for paying the entire medical bill, that I was told everything was ok. I have been trying to dispute te bill, but no one cares AT ALL! Oh and by the way, I had to call to see about my blood results, because no one called me. Needless to say, no one… could tell me the results, so I still do not know how they turned out. I am seriously disgusted with the lack of empathy with Dr. Ratts and her staff.

We saw her to get care for our teenager daughter having reproductive organ anomolies and severe pain, and she was awesome. Yes, it took a while to get an appointment, and a while to get in the day of our appointment, but she was patient, caring and knowledgeable when we were with her and did a wonderful surgery. Not a bad trade-off.

I felt like I was part of some kind of factory system. The only person at the entire facility who really listened to me or treated me like a person was one of the other REs in the practice. I have written evidence (in Dr. Ratt's handwriting) of being told one thing in person and having something else put in my patient file. No one from the office called to give results of any tests, and when I called to ask for them no one called me back. The entire experience was impersonal, unprofessional, and made infertility even more stressful for me.

Dr. Ratts talked down to me, forgot to put in for labs several times, didn't even call me when I had a miscarraige, lied on how much services would cost.When I asked her to get a blood test after my miscarriage to see if I had a blood clotting disorder, she refused. Later, after a second miscarriage, I went to a another doctor who happily gave me the tests - turns out I have a blood clotting disorder that was the cause of my infertility issues and miscarriages. Now, after treatment I'm pregnant and doing well. She has a horrible bedside manner, and so does her head nurse.