During In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), eggs removed from your ovaries are fertilized with sperm (from your partner or a donor) in a laboratory. The resulting embryos are placed in your uterus. You may need to take fertility drugs before the procedure.

Success rates: Between 28% and 35% of women who try In-Vitro Fertilization conceive.

The transfer of fresh embryos is done depending on the characteristics of the embryos. Embryologists suggest that the best time is between the second and sixth day after the extraction and fertilization of the eggs. We generally transfer between 2 and 3 embryos in order to reduce the number of multiple births (our statistics show that this gives the highest pregnancy ratios without increasing the number of multiple births).

The transfer of frozen embryos is done after having transfered the number of embryos needed in each case. The rest of the viable embryos are subjected to a freezing process in order to conserve them for a while. This process allows for the availability of these embryos in order to make a transfer of frozen embryos should the couple require it. The transfer is a relatively simple process. It is done while the patient is awake and does not require the use of any anesthesia.

As women age the quality of their eggs is affected, which is the main cause for the decline in their ability to reproduce. There's been a significant increase of infertile women due to the age at which they begin trying to conceive. Some factors are that many couples postpone their marriage until a more advanced age and then wait even longer to attempt to get pregnant, the development of sexually transmitted diseases, or the slow response to conventional stimulation, among others.

Egg donation is an alternative when pregnancy is not achieved using conventional assisted reproduction due to a repeated poor egg fertilization, repeated failed egg fertilization, genetic egg anomalies, or premature ovaric failure.

Egg donors are put through a series of medical controls to eliminate the existence of congenital diseases, malformations, or sexually transmitted diseases. This is the most efficient method when it comes to assisted reproduction.

Cryopreservation of eggs is an option that is recommended for women who prefer to develop professionally as well as financially before choosing to get pregnant, since this technique allows women to save their eggs and get pregnant at a later age without the fear of egg deterioration. One of the main problems that shows up more frequently in a couple's infertility is related to the woman's age.

Cryopreservation of eggs also represents hope for patients with cancer who will undergo chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgeries that have adverse effects on fertility. If time allows before initiating cancer treatment it's possible to obtain a larger number of eggs through stimulation in order to freeze them. When the patient is healthy again she can use the eggs in order to try and get pregnant.

This is currently the latest technology offered due to its high success rate. With this process it's possible to cultivate the embryos up to a more developed stage. The embryos obtained are transferred using IVF or ICSI on day five or six, which is when the uterus is more receptive, to allow for higher possibilities of achieving implantation. This technique allows the transfer of only two embryos, but there are higher success rates of pregnancy and lower rates of multiple births.

Intrauterine Insemination consists in placing semen directly in the woman's uterus close to the time of ovulation (It can be the spouse's or a donor's semen).

The insemination is performed in the doctor's office since it is a simple procedure that is painless and doesn't require anesthesia. Typically the insemination is performed two days in a row after ovulation is induced. For each insemination the spouse or donor must provide the lab with a seminal sample. Occasionally the doctor may recommend more than one insemination per cycle.

Success rates: Generally after 4 to 5 inseminations 85% to 90% of women become pregnant.

Surgery can be used to help correct genetic defects, blocked fallopian tubes, or to remove endometriosis, fibroids, or ovarian cysts.

Success rates: About 40% to 60% of women treated for endometriosis and scar tissue are then able to conceive. Between 10% and 90% of women who have their tubes cleared conceive.

In the last few years techniques in microsurgery have progressed substantially in that it is now possible to reverse what used to be considered a permanent sterilization: Tubal Ligation. This procedure rejoins the uterine tubes that were previously cut. In this way the sperm and the egg can again join for conception.

When a Histerescopy is performed for diagnostic reasons there is no need for anesthesia because it is as simple as inserting an Intrauterine Device (IUD). The procedure is done in a doctor's office to allow the uterus to be seen from the inside, to take samples of tissue for a biopsy, and to perform minor surgeries. When it is performed for surgical purposes it is most likely to remove polyps, myomas, or fibromas. Malformations can be easily treated, such as uterine septos and intrauterine adherences, among others. The surgery is performed under general anesthesia in an operating room.

Laparoscopy is a procedure to gain access to the abdominal organs through an intraumbilical incision, or through two or three areas located just below the pubic hair. This procedure is used to treat diseases that appear on the walls and surface of the uterus, in the uterine tubes, and in the ovaries. The most common treatments of the uterus are for myomas and fibromas. The tubes may be easily treated. Most ovarian cysts, especially the ones resulting from endometriosis, can be completely cured with these techniques, thus saving the ovarian tissue. Additionally, solid tumors may be removed from the ovaries, or the ovaries themselves, depending on what the diagnosis requires.

The lab at IECH has some of the most sophisticated equipment available which, in a matter of minutes can detect the hormones involved in the fertility process, thus enabling the physician to obtain pertinent medical information on the premesis.

Our services include:

• Complete measurement of reproductive hormonal profile (FSH, LH, Estradiol, Progesterone, Testosterone, Prolactin, TSH, T3, T4).
• Tests to evaluate ovarian reserve.
• Immediate pregnancy confirmation results through HCG hormone testing.

The causes of male infertility are varied as there are multiple factors that can intervene during the process of sperm development or fertilization. Male sterility can also be due to certain hormonal, infectious, toxic, mechanical, congenital, genetic, or immunological irregularities.

At the IECH Fertility Center we have a staff of specialized physicians that can assist our male patients medically as well as surgically with infertility diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

During Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), a single sperm is injected into a single egg and the resulting embryo is placed in your uterus. This technique was created for those instances when there is a very low sperm count. If there is no sperm in the ejaculation, a fine needle aspiration from the epididimus, or a surgical biopsy can be performed to retrieve sperm from the testes.

Success rates: About 35% of couples that try ICSI conceive. IECH success rate for ICSI is higher than the average at 40% .

Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (PESA) is a treatment that is performed when there is an obstruction that doesn´t allow the sperm to go from the testes to the exterior. The procedure, which collects the sperm, is practically painless, lasting between 10 and 20 minutes, and uses only a local anesthetic.

A testicular biopsy consists in extracting a small sample of testicular tissue to be evaluated under a microscope. This procedure is used when there is no testicular obstruction, and yet there is no presence of sperm in the semen.

The biopsy allows us to evaluate the seminal and leydig cells. In addition, if sperm is found present in the tissue, they are frozen and used at a later time during an assisted reproduction technique called Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).

In recent years microsurgery has progressed in such a way that it is now possible to reverse what at other times was considered a permanent sterilization: Vasectomy. Vasectomy reversal repairs a section of the sperm duct that was removed surgically, and is a relatively simple operation lasting less than 3 hours.

This procedure is for patients with cancer who choose to preserve their fertility before undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery. It is also used as a backup for In-Vitro Fertilization procedures when there is a risk of not having a good enough sperm count.

Cryopreservation of Sperm is recommended for patients undergoing a Vasectomy, for assisted reproduction patients where the spouse, for whatever reason, is unable to be present whenever a sperm sample is required. It is also useful for patients undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy, when samples obtained are of very poor quality, testicular biopsies, and Epididymal Sperm Aspirations.

The samples are frozen and stored at a temperature of -196ºC using a safe method that allows the sperm to be stored for an indefinite amount of time, and ensuring a good survival rate once thawed.

Since assisted reproductive medicine demands a high degree of physical and emotional involvement by both partners, IECH supports couples during this process with dedicated specialists in the field.