Fertility Clinic
Infertility
Infertility is a couples incapability of conceiving after a year of
trying without using any contraceptive methods. It can be classified in two categories:
• Primary infertility: A pregnancy has never been achieved.
• Secondary infertility: At least one prior pregnancy has been achieved.
The term “Recurrent pregnancy loss” is used in cases where a pregnancy
is confirmed but is lost before it is considered viable.
Frequency
Between 15% and 20% of couples in reproductive age that are seeking
pregnancy do not achieve it after one year of trying.
Most frequent causes of infertility in women
Between 75% and 85% of female infertility cases are due to three main causes:
• Anovulation: This occurs when the ovum is not expelled from the ovary. It is either because an ovum hasn’t been formed or it didn’t reach maturity.
• Endometriosis: This is a condition in which the tissue that normally develops as the lining of the uterus grows outside of it. This can affect the ovaries, fallopian tubes, intestines, bladder, and even distant organs like the lungs. It can present in any woman who has started having their menstrual period.
• Tubo-peritoneal factor: Around 25% of female infertility cases are due to lesions in the fallopian tubes that prevent them from working properly.
Most frequent causes of infertility in men
• Testicular problems: Disorders of the hormonal regulation system, such as diseases that affect the hypothalamus or the hypophysis, can lead to low or no sperm production. This hormonal disorder is known as hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, which is a testicular defect caused by a lack of hormonal stimulus.
• Testicular or spermatogenic failure in sperm production: This is the most common of testicular disorders. If, for any reason, spermatogenesis is affected or damaged, there won’t be any expected reaction. This could be caused by a variety of diseases that can be detected with a thorough examination of the patient’s medical history.
• Post-testicular causes: This refers to obstruction problems in the ducts where sperm are stored. These ducts lead the sperm to the seminal vesicles, where it is mixed with seminal fluid and then travels to the urethra through the prostate, forming the semen.
• Ejaculation disorders: The most frequent disorder is retrograde ejaculation. This happens when the semen, instead of being expelled, is redirected to the bladder.
This prevents the semen from discharging into the vagina, considerably reducing the possibility of pregnancy.
Our treatments
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
This procedure consists in inserting the sperm directly in the uterus in order to increase the fertilization possibilities.
In Vitro fertilization (FIV) and embryo transfer
This consists in fertilizing the ovums with the sperm in a lab, and then transferring the resulting embryos to the uterus.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
This is a method in which a single sperm is directly injected in an ovum in order to facilitate fertilization. This method is used in severe male infertility cases.
Microsurgical epididymal sperm aspitation / extraction (MESA/MESE)
A surgical procedure to collect sperms from the epididymis in men with sperm production or blockage in the vas deferens.
Testicular sperm aspiration (TESA)
Surgical technique that extracts sperms directly from the testicular tissue. This method is only used when there are no sperms found in the semen.
Cryopreservation
A freezing process of ovums, sperms or embryos for it’s late use, allowing fertility preservation.
Vitrification
An advanced type of crypreservation that uses a quick freezing method that prevents ice crystals from forming, which improves the ovums or embryos survival after thawing.
Egg donation
Process in which an ovum donated from another woman is used for the fertilization. This method is ideal for women that can’t produce viable ovums.