Failed IVF cycle: What’s next?
It’s frustrating to get the “negative beta” call from the IVF coordinator/doctor after taking injections for a few weeks, undergoing egg retrieval, and embryo transfer. Whereas most IVF failures are due to the abnormalities of the embryos transferred, other variables have to be carefully looked at prior to the next attempt. Both the embryo and the […]
Egg Freezing No Longer Experimental
American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) announced today that there is now enough medical evidence to suggest that egg freezing is no longer an experimental technique for fertility preservation. The change in the labeling of egg freezing will most likely expand this option to more women considering fertility preservation. Egg freezing has been around since […]
Is amniocentesis becoming obsolete for Down’s syndrome screening?
A recently developed test called the Materni21 allows non-invasive screening for Down’s syndrome during early pregnancy simply from a blood draw from the mother. The test is being evaluated further by clinical trials for its reliability and accuracy, but the initial studies report promising results. It appears that fetal DNA is detectable in the maternal […]
Prevention of OHSS in patients with PCOS undergoing IVF
Patients with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) typically present with ovarian distention, pelvic pressure and fluid build-up in the pelvic area commonly associated with ovarian stimulation or In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Whereas most cases of OHSS are mild in nature, 1-2% of the time symptoms can be severe, limiting activity, requiring pain management and even hospitalization. […]
Prenatal Testing for Chromosomal Abnormalities
Prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosomal abnormalities has evolved significantly over the last 30 years. In the early days of fetal testing, amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) was used to obtain fetal cells to determine the genetic make-up of the fetus and more recently small amounts of DNA can now be examined for the diagnosis […]
DES Exposure, T-Shaped Uterus and Failed IVF Cycles
Diethylstilbestrol (DES) was developed in the late 1930s and prescribed to women at risk for having miscarriages and preterm labor. DES is a synthetic estrogen and acts biologically similar to currently available estrogenic compounds. It was initially reported to improve pregnancy outcome, but later studies did not report any difference, but despite such evidence, its […]
Tubal Reversal: One or Both Tubes?
It is considered ideal if both tubes are re-connected (bilateral re-anastomosis) during tubal reversal surgery, but in some cases this may not be possible. Patients with a history of unilateral salpingectomy (removal of one of the fallopian tubes), one sided tubal damage or with a blocked tube, very short tubal segment, unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of […]
Sclerotherapy for Treatment of Endometriomas
In the era of assisted reproductive technology (ART), there are two reasons for the treatment of endometriosis. The first is to alleviate symptoms of pain. The second is in preparation for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Conventional surgical treatment of ovarian endometriosis involves either an abdominal incision or laparoscopic drainage of the cyst contents with subsequent […]
Dilatation and Curettage
Dilation and curettage (D and C or D&C) is a minor gynecological procedure commonly used to diagnose and treat abnormal bleeding from the uterus or to remove unhealthy tissue if a woman has a miscarriage. It can also be used to diagnose uterine cancer or precancerous cells (endometrial hyperplasia) by removing the endometrial cells for […]
Immunological Implantation Failure and Immune Treatment for Infertility and IVF
Currently, with few exceptions, practitioners of assisted reproduction tend to attribute “unexplained and/or repeated” IVF failure(s), almost exclusively to poor embryo quality, advocating adjusted protocols for ovarian stimulation and/or gamete and embryo preparation as a potential remedy. The idea that having failed IVF, all that it takes to ultimately succeed is to keep trying over […]