Oocyte Cryopreservation Offers Option For Delayed Pregnancy

Most women today are deciding to put-off having a child. Among the reasons for this include women that are are focused on a career, women who have are returned to school/college, or because they simply haven’t met the right person with which to start a family. For women who fit into this group, egg freezing, also referred to as oocyte cryopreservation, is a revolutionary technology and one that allows women the ability to make life choices.

Another reason egg freezing is such a revolutionary technology, is the fact that oocyte cryopreservation allows for women diagnosed with cancer to undergo chemotherapy treatments, while retaining the option to have children later. In most cases, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments lead to infertility. While options vary depending on age, type of cancer and cancer-treatment plan, egg freezing can provide these women the opportunity to preserve their fertility.

Tubal Ligation Reversal - Does It Really Work?

A Tubal ligation reversal surgery in Los Angeles is a minimally invasive micro surgical procedure designed to restore fertility to women who have previously had a tubal ligation surgery. During a Tubal Ligation Reversal Surgery, the surgeon makes a small incision in the lower area of the abdomen. Through this incision, the surgeon rejoins any separated segments of the fallopian tube and remove any clamps or devices. In most cases, if there are no other issues with fertility are present, there exists a sixty to ninety percent chance of a successful pregnancy within one year after having tubal ligation reversal procedure.

Is A Filler Lift An Alternative To A Surgical Face Lift?

Many plastic surgeons believe that when the correct individual dermal filler, or in some cases, the correct combination of fillers to treat wrinkles, the results are very similar to those achieved from much more invasive procedures.

Dermal fillers widely accepted and used in modern cosmetic dermatology and cosmetic surgery procedures as an instant aesthetic treatment. A dermal filler treatment is one of a small number of cosmetic procedures that typically provide immediate results and a noticeable improvement and does not require down time like procedures such as a face lift.

These days there is a mind boggling number of choices when electing to have a dermal filler treatment. It is not an uncommon practice for a cosmetic surgeon to utilize a single type of filler to treat more than one area of concern.

New York Cosmetic Dermatologist Dr. Karyn Grossman states "Each individual dermal filler has qualities that differ from other fillers, and therefore provide different results. By utilizing multiple filler types to treat different areas of a patients face, and using the best filler for each treatment area, one can achieve the most beautiful and natural looking results possible."

In Vitro Fertilization With Frozen Eggs

Unlike sperm and embryo cryopreservation, which have become routine processes in assisted reproductive technology, success with freezing eggs has historically been difficult to achieve. This is because the egg is the largest cell in the human body and contains a considerable amount of water.

When eggs are frozen, ice crystals form that can destroy the cell. To prevent this, the egg must be dehydrated prior to freezing. The water is then replaced by a special “antifreeze” that inhibits the formation of ice crystals. Because the eggshell hardens when frozen, sperm must be injected with a needle in order to fertilize the egg. This is known as ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) and is a standard technique also used in IVF.

Zygote Intra-Fallopian tube Transfer Shows Promise

Santa Monica Fertility Specialists in Santa Monica California, home to world renown Fertility Specialist Dr John Jain, recently implemented a ZIFT program for women over 40. ZIFT stands for Zygote Intra-Fallopian tube Transfer, a process where embryos are transferred to the fallopian tube soon after fertilization so that they can grow in their natural environment. The reason we offer this is that the increased rate of infertility and miscarriage seen in women over 40 years of age is primarily due to chromosomal errors that occur during egg and embryo development. Growing embryos in the artificial environment of the IVF laboratory puts further stress on developing embryos.

The results with ZIFT and early intrauterine transfer have led to ongoing pregnancies in approximately 60% of the first group of women treated in this manner. ZIFT is also a viable alternative to those women who have encountered multiple IVF failures.

Are Multiple Pregnancies Dangerous?

Over the past decade, improved fertility treatments has lead to a rise in the incidence of twins, triplets and even higher-order (Quadruplets etc.) multiple pregnancies. Although most of these multiple pregnancies are fraternal (each from one egg), the incidence of identical twinning has also increased, probably due to embryo manipulation in the laboratory.

Fertility treatments utilize hormonal injections that increase the number of eggs produced. Following hormone injections, a woman can be artificially inseminated, or undergo in-vitro fertilization whereby the eggs are fertilized in the laboratory and actual embryos are transferred into the uterus.

Multiple pregnancies are considered high-risk pregnancies. For the mother, the risks include increased chance of hypertension in pregnancy, gestational diabetes, cesarean section and hemorrhage at the time of delivery. For the babies, the main risks relate to preterm delivery and the risk of disability or death from underdeveloped organs.

Breast Augmentation in Southern California

Breast Augmentation is quite popular these days, and it is only becoming more popular as time passes. Plastic surgeons are working every day to advance the safety of these procedures as well as creating much more stunning results. Says Santa Monica California Plastic Surgeon Dr Kao of breast augmentation surgery "I like to take into consideration the woman's body type when discussing the size and type of the breast implant. The width of the shoulder and the chest wall have a very important barring on how a particular breast implant will look on a particular woman and the waistline is critical to the size of the breast implant I recommend. "

Equally important for the plastic surgeon to consider are the height and body weight of the patient. Dr Kao's goal for breast augmentation surgery is to create contour that is elegant and pleasing. A well shaped breast is one that gives curves to a woman that is balanced with the waist and hips, without being distracting, uncomfortable and looking awkward in clothing.

Oocyte Cryopreservation In The Clinical Practice

The incorporation of oocyte cryopreservation into the clinical practice of assisted reproduction long has been a goal of many practitioners. Oocyte cryopreservation complements assisted reproduction by extending its application to fertile women. It may be used to avoid long-term embryo cryopreservation, to rescue cycles complicated by ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome or failure to obtain sperm, and to avoid synchronization issues in oocyte-donation cycles.

Fertile women may take advantage of this technology to electively delay childbearing or as a strategy for fertility preservation when faced with a new diagnosis of cancer and sterilizing therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation or extirpative surgery. Recent advances in assisted reproduction and embryology, including improved culture media, fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and optimization of cryoprotectants, have made oocyte cryopreservation a viable reality. This review focuses on the etiology of oocyte cryopreservation, history of oocyte cryopreservation, recent advances, and clinical outcomes.