Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a chronic illness. Women with endometriosis experience severe menstrual cramps, and up to 40% of all infertile women are diagnosed with the disease. In endometriosis, collections of the uterus lining can grow outside of the uterus and attach to multiple different organs, such as the peritoneum, the ovaries, or the fallopian tubes.
The most common sign of endometriosis is excessive pain during menstruation. If the fallopian tubes are involved, they may lose function throughout the illness. If the ovaries are also involved, it can hinder egg maturation and ovulation. Patients who have already undergone surgery to remove endometriosis lesions outside of the uterus may also experience a decrease in ovarian function.
For this reason, patients suffering from endometriosis often need to undergo artificial reproduction to fulfill their desire to have children. Egg or embryo freezing before endometriosis surgery may also be considered if the planned surgery has a high risk of damage to the ovaries (for example, if the endometrial lesion is located on or near the ovaries). Priv.-Doz. DDr. Michael Feichtinger conducted one of the most comprehensive studies to date with more than 2,500 childless couples worldwide and over 8,000 treatment cycles to investigate the influence of endometriosis on fertility treatment. This was the first study to analyze the cumulative pregnancy rate (live birth after repeated artificial fertilization) in endometriosis.
This study found that endometriosis does not have a negative influence on the outcome of fertility treatment. As expected, women with endometriosis had fewer available egg cells after IVF stimulation, but the cumulative “baby take-home rate” was not reduced compared to women without endometriosis. This data shows that women suffering from endometriosis can receive single embryo transfer and subsequent cryo-cycles, just like women who do not have endometriosis, meaning that they can receive multiple frozen embryo transfers to maximize the total number of pregnant patients and minimize obstetric complications.
Due to its high efficacy, artificial reproduction should be the preferred method of treatment to surgery, especially in patients with the primary concern of having children.