IVF Procedure
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Once you have selected IVF as an option for you, Dr.
McLaughlin determines a protocol, which is discussed with you in
detail with you in detail by an IVF RN. Our cycles are scheduled every
other month, with the lab thoroughly cleaned between cycles, in
order to optimize your chance of success. By coordinating your
menstrual cycle, we can usually anticipate your retrieval date
(within a few days), which facilitates your life schedule.
Your medication is started and your ovarian response is
monitored by vaginal ultrasound and blood tests. When your
clinical response to the fertility medication appears optimal, the
eggs (oocytes) are ready to be removed from the ovaries. You’ll
be given a medication to trigger release of the eggs and
scheduled for an egg retrieval 36 hours later.
The following day, you’ll arrive at the Follas Center to
undergo your egg retrieval in our state-of-the-art office-based IVF
surgical suite. Our all-RN staff will greet you, along with Dr. Amy
Delumpa, our physician anesthesiologist, and Dr. McLaughlin.
Every effort will be made to put you and your spouse/partner at
ease.
You’ll be given an intravenous sedation to minimize any
discomfort you might have during the vaginal ultrasound
aspiration of your ovarian follicles. (Please remember every
follicle seen on ultrasound does not automatically contain an egg!)
In the recovery room, after the procedure, you’ll be reunited
with your spouse/partner, who has collected a semen specimen
adjacent to the IVF lab. You’ll be told the number of eggs
retrieved, then discharged home when fully recovered.
The day after retrieval you’ll be called to inform you the
status of your embryos. Three to five days after the retrieval,
you’ll return for your embryo transfer, in the same suite using
abdominal ultrasound for guidance. Unless IV sedation is required,
your spouse/partner is encouraged to join you during this short
procedure. At the conclusion of your transfer procedure, you’ll
be discharged home to wait until the results of your pregnancy
tests are known.
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