French doctors on Monday unveiled a new technique in ovarian transplant that had helped a young woman who had been menopausal for two years to give birth to a healthy baby girl.
Using a two-step process, they restored fertility to the woman after she had undergone chemotherapy treatment for sickle-cell anemia, a disease in which red blood cells become dangerously misshaped.
Infertility - Causes - Diagnosis - Treatment - FAQs
Infertility is a condition wherein couples fail to achieve pregnancy or if the woman has been unable to carry a pregnancy that results in a live birth.
Infertility is a condition wherein couples fail to achieve pregnancy or if the woman has been unable to carry a pregnancy that results in a live birth.
Ovarian transplants, pioneered in 2004, entail removing an ovary from a woman before she undergoes cancer therapy. The organ is frozen and then thawed and returned to the patient after her treatment.
But one of the biggest challenges in this surgery is encouraging the transplanted tissue to grow blood vessels.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) - Introduction To Infertility and Reproduction
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives a brief introduction to infertility and reproduction
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives a brief introduction to infertility and reproduction
The new technique, described by Pascal Piver of the Limoges University Hospital in central-western France, entails a two-phase procedure in which tiny pieces of the stored tissue are stitched in place three days before the real transplant.
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Invitro Fertilisation
During IVF fertilization takes place invitro, in an incubated petri dish. The resulting embryo is transferred back to the uterus on Day 3 at the 6-8 cell stage. Sometimes the embryo transfer in done at the blastocyst stage on Day 5. The embryo is drawn into a specialized catheter along with a small amount of culture medium and is transferred to the uterus.
During IVF fertilization takes place invitro, in an incubated petri dish. The resulting embryo is transferred back to the uterus on Day 3 at the 6-8 cell stage. Sometimes the embryo transfer in done at the blastocyst stage on Day 5. The embryo is drawn into a specialized catheter along with a small amount of culture medium and is transferred to the uterus.
After the transplant, the patient started ovulating in four months and became pregnant after another two months, without the need for in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
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Ovarian Cancer | Cancer in the Ovaries - Causes, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Ovarian cancer affects both the ovaries and is referred to as the 'silent killer' as the symptoms go unnoticed until the disease advances.
Ovarian cancer affects both the ovaries and is referred to as the 'silent killer' as the symptoms go unnoticed until the disease advances.
Piver said the technique had also been used on a second patient whose ovary had been in storage for 10 years. She is now pregnant after IVF.
"We believe that it represents a considerable advance on the methods of ovarian transplantation used until now," he said.
"We hope that it will enable more young patients who have been cured of cancer to regain their reproductive health and become pregnant with their own children."
Source-AFP
SRM
