Infertility Treatment
IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)

To achieve a pregnancy as a result of IVF several steps are needed:

• Use of fertility drugs to stimulate the ovary to produce several oocytes (eggs).
• Retrieval of the oocytes from the ovary by transvaginal aspiration.
• Fertilization of the oocytes and culture of the embryos in the IVF laboratory.
• Transfer of the embryos into the uterus.

All of these procedures are accomplished in our facility. For patient comfort and safety, all transvaginal aspirations of ovarian cysts are done with conscious sedation administered by an anesthesiologist.

IVF or In Vitro Fertilization (“In Vitro”-Latin for-“in glass”) is a procedure that can be used to treat infertile couples with blocked tubes and low sperm counts. Many steps are involved in this treatment. The woman undergoes controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and ovulation induction (OI).

The next step in IVF is the retrieval of the oocytes from the ovary by ultrasound guided transvaginal aspiration. All ultrasound guided transvaginal aspirations of oocytes are done with conscious sedation administered by an anesthesiologist.

The partner’s sperm is processed and prepared for use on the day of the egg retrieval.

The oocytes that have been removed from the ovary of the woman are placed in a Petri dish with her partner’s sperm. The oocytes (eggs) are later checked to see if they have fertilized and made zygotes (embryos).

In patients with a severe male-factor infertility, ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) is used to fertilize eggs. This involves the injection of a single normal sperm into a single egg. Patients with sperm that have no or very low motility can benefit from ICSI.

The embryos are cultured for six days. The growth pattern is carefully followed. This allows us to pick the best embryos to be placed in the uterus. The physicians will inform the patients of the best time to replace the embryos.

Embryo transfer is done on day 2, day 3 or day 5 of embryo culture. Our physicians follow strict guidelines laid down by SART and ASRM when deciding the number of embryos that are replaced.

Any embryos that remain in culture after the best embryos have been placed in the uterus are cultured till day 6 and frozen through a slow cooling method. This is called cryopreservation of embryos. These embryos can be thawed at a later stage and transferred to the patient’s uterus in a frozen embryo transfer.