Icon Image | Photo: Shutterstock Even the area of reproductive medicine is touched by the commonly held misconception “a lot helps a lot” when it comes to taking medicines. We often encounter situations in which patients undergoing hormonal stimulation (ovarian stimulation) want to increase the prescribed dosage of their own accord, saying they had read
Quality in IVF centers
Application and Relevance of a Quality Management System
Certificate: ISO 9001:2015 | IVF Centers Prof. Zech “If there’s a way to do it better: find it.” Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931) If we interpret this quote by Thomas Edison, the continual pursuit of improvements may (as, for example, in the case of Edison) lead to new inventions or to the improvement of already existing
“Sometimes there’s more in the basket and sometimes less “
The number of oocytes in an IVF treatment
Icon Image | Photo: Shutterstock The stage of hormonal stimulation (ovarian stimulation) is an exciting time. Daily injections are required and each ultrasound scan is anticipated with great excitement. What our patients want to know is: “How many follicles can be identified? Do all the follicles continue to grow? How many large and probably mature
PGD, PGS, PID, PGT …
Terms for Genetic Diagnostic Methods in Fertility Treatment
Icon Image | Photo: Shutterstock When it comes to genetic analysis in reproductive medicine, there exist a number of commonly heard terms, such as Pre-Implantation Diagnosis (PID), Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing (PGT), Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening (PGS). But how can they be distinguished from one another? Are there any differences between them? I
The precautionary freezing of egg cells
Different motivations – different regulations
Icon Image | Photo: Shutterstock Cutting-edge medical procedures provide women with the opportunity to have some of their oocytes frozen and “stored” as a precautionary measure. This is intended to preserve the positive status quo of their fertility at the time of cryopreservation, which in turn represents an option for achieving a pregnancy using their
When the path to parenthood is “blocked”
Therapy options in connection with the treatment of blocked/damaged fallopian tubes
Icon Image | Photo: Shutterstock Blocked or damaged fallopian tubes are among the main causes of unwanted childlessness and are seen as classical indications for IVF treatment (“In vitro fertilization”). Tubal damage is frequently associated with the accumulation of serous, inflammatory or post-inflammatory fluids. We are referring here to a condition called hydro- or sactosalpinx.
Genetics in reproductive medicine
Background and Significance
Icon Image | Photo: Shutterstock Genetic disorders may cause severe diseases in humans and are known to have adverse effects on fertility, which may even lead to miscarriages. A closer look into these genetic disorders suggests that there are two main reasons for this: Chromosomal disorders and gene mutations. In chromosomal disorders, a distinction is
Towards happiness of fatherhood
TESE – sperm retrieval procedure for “in vitro fertilization”
Icon Image | Photo: Shutterstock IVF treatment (IVF/ICSI/IMSI) involves the fertilization of the egg cell by a sperm outside the female body in the laboratory. In some cases, however, sperms have to be collected directly from the man’s testes during a minor surgical intervention called TESE – “Testicular Sperm Extraction”. The TESE procedure is used
