Fertility preservation is a hot service offered by many fertility clinics today. The most common and successful means to preserve fertility is through egg freezing (also known as oocyte cryopreservation). More than 500 babies have been born from this technique worldwide. Egg freezing is a process whereby eggs are stimulated in the woman’s ovaries and [...]
Infertility is a couple’s problem, and is commonly due to some contribution from both the male and female partners. Approximately 40% of the time, the male contributes a significant part of the fertility problem. At the Xpert Fertility Care, Dr. Ho thoroughly investigates both male and female causes of infertility in a comprehensive manner.
Female Causes:
Female [...]
Today NBC show is airing an interesting segment about the complimentary approach to the treatment of infertility. Many western fertility specialists are now embracing the idea. At at Xpert Fertility Care, we strongly believe that, “keep your mind open” and “do whatever works to achieve the goal” for our patients.
Generally some preparation and testing is required in order to optimize IVF treatment. It is realistic to assume that you will need about 2 months to cover the topics below.
Month 1 is the first day of bleeding and is considered cycle day (CD) #1.
A. CD #3 FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), Estradiol
This is an assessment of ovarian reserve. The clomid challenge test may be used in a prior month. If a patient has an elevation of FSH we may change the stimulation protocol. If the FSH is over 20 mIU/ml the outcomes for IVF are very poor and we need to discuss options. An FSH between 10 mIU/ml and 20 mIU/ml may be considered the ‘grey zone’. An FSH below 10 mIU/ml is associated with normal ovarian reserve.
B. Sonogram for baseline antral follicle count ("young eggs"). The good number of antral follicle is between 10 to 15. Number of antral follicles less than 5, is consider "poor potential".
C. Routine Blood Testing
All couples are tested for Hepatitis B, HIV, Blood type, and Rubella Status.
D. Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) or Hysteroscopy
It is important to have an assessment of the fallopian tubes before IVF. If a patient has dilated tubes (hydrosalpinges) studies [...] Continue Reading…
We feel it is important to make couples at ease with the entire IVF procedure and to help them understand the process. Once the medical necessity has been determined the couple is given a large packet of information by Dr. Ho which has detailed information about all aspects of the procedure including medications, egg retrieval and embryo transfer, consent forms, and sample calendars. The couple is given time to review all of the information.
Next the couple makes an appointment for a mock (trial) embryo transfer and official calendar. The trial embryo transfer is much like a PAP smear or intra-uterine insemination. Dr. Ho passes a small catheter, much like the one that will eventually have embryos in it, into the cervix. The depthness and the dimension as well as the roatation of the uterine cavity is measured.Thus, we know if there would be a problem with the eventual transfer (stricture of the cerix. sharp, odd angle that has to be accomodated)
A hysterocopy with flexible fiber optic light was then performed with an injection a small amount of saline into the uterine cavity to detect any uterine cavity defects that might hurt implantation ( scar tissue, polyps, fibroid tumor). Our [...] Continue Reading…
Sphere: Related ContentAt a time when IVF clinics are transferring fewer and fewer embryos and thereby placing more and more emphasis on embryo selection, investigators from Australia and Greece have for the first time used DNA fingerprinting to identify those embryos that have successfully implanted in the uterus and progressed to term. They suggest that, if DNA fingerprinting and microarray analysis can identify the genes expressed by a viable embryo, a revolutionary means of embryo selection in IVF may be possible. These techniques may make it feasible for a single embryo to be reliably transferred thus eliminating multiple pregnancies and the associated risks.
Their findings are based on a study of 48 IVF patients whose oocytes were fertilized and cultured for 5 days to the blastocyst stage. Between eight and 20 cells from the trophectoderm cell layer were then removed by biopsy from the resulting blastocysts. These samples were amplified and their gene expression analyzed using a microarray technique to target sequences of messenger RNA. One or more blastocysts were then transferred to all 48 women, 25 of whom became pregnant, with 37 babies born. In seven of these successful cases all transferred blastocysts implanted, but in 18 of them some of [...] Continue Reading…
The image of the 1950s is that of a simple and quaint life. The picture-perfect nuclear family was comprised of a father who worked from dawn until dusk, a mother with a bobbed perm and a kill-you-with-kindness attitude and kids (one girl, one boy of course) who thought that the world’s greatest injustice was being bullied in high school.
Throw in a fascination with dishwashers and a loose-to-iron-fisted love for the Bible and you have your stereotypical, white-picket-fence-dog-in-the-yard family, every hippie’s nightmare and every Republican’s dream. While this image is dead to our generation, the dream for a “perfect family” just can’t stay buried.
Due to technology’s progression, this dream could become a reality some day. According to an MSN article by Rachel Lehmann-Haupt, “Parents are looking to prescription drugs, in vitro fertilization, donor eggs and sperm and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, a technique that lets doctors screen for genetic diseases and gender,” in order to help a couple – a supremely wealthy couple – create their dream baby, a super baby, if you will. It is possible that one day couples might be able to select, in advance, many different qualities for their baby.
This doesn’t mean, even as the technology progresses, [...] Continue Reading…
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Located in San Diego and Orange County, Southern California, XPert Fertility Care® is a leading fertillity center for infertility treatment, including ICSI, IVF - in vitro fertilization, PGD - preimplantation genetic diagnosis, egg donation and egg freezing. Our fertility specialists are among the Top Fertility Doctors in the United States for both female and male fertility treatment. For Southern California residents, XFC is easily accessible from Los Angeles, Long Beach, Fountain Valley, Hunington Beach, Irvine, San Diego, Riverside, Corona, Temecula and La Jolla.
Orange County Fertility Clinic | 11180 Warner Avenue, Suite 461, Fountain Valley, California 92708 | 714.429.5848
San Diego Fertility Center | 5555 Reservoir Drive, Suite 205 San Diego, California 92120 | 619.286.5054
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