Oocyte Retrieval pps

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Oocyte Retrieval

Matts Wikland

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Gothenburg, and Fertility

Centre Scandinavia, Gothenburg, Sweden

INTRODUCTION

Laparoscopy

Before the era of clinical in vitro fertilization (IVF), oocytes were acquired

by laparotomy (1). Aside from the escalating scientific interest in fertilizing

and culturing human oocytes in vitro, the development of laparoscopic sur￾gery also facilitated the use of IVF in treatment of infertile couples. At the

end of 1960, the laparoscopic technique made it possible to retrieve human

oocytes quite simply for both research and clinical purposes. The technique

played a key role in the start of collaboration between Edwards, the scientist

with the knowledge of how to fertilize and culture human oocytes in vitro,

and Steptoe, a clinician mastering a technique that could be used to harvest

oocytes in women with tubal infertility (2). Subsequently, laparoscopy

became the technique of choice for oocyte aspiration during the first 10 years

of this clinical IVF era. Different technical aspects surrounding this tech￾nique were published at that time by those groups involved in the early

clinical practice of IVF (3–5). Retrieving oocytes under the guidance of a

laparoscope was a fairly simple technique with a high oocyte recovery rate.

However, general anesthesia was routinely needed and only in certain

patients was it performed with local anesthesia (6). Furthermore, laparos￾copy exposes healthy women to risks that are not negligible and it is rather

an expensive method. In order for IVF to evolve into a procedure that could

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