Sexual Experiences of Infertile Women: A Qualitative Study

It is suggested that stress related to infertility causes marriage conflicts and decreases in the frequency of sexual intercourse. Aim: This study aimed to explore the experiences of the sexuality of infertile women. Patients and Methods: A phenomenological design was used in this study. We conducted face-to-face, semistructured, in-depth interviews with 11 infertile women. The interviews were audio-recorded, and a thematic approach was used to assess the data. Results: The average age of the women was 33.05 ± 3.40 years, and their age of first sexual intercourse was 23.0 ± 2.8 years and all of them are legally married. The durations of experiencing the problem of infertility were as follows; 3-5 years in 33%, 6-10 years in 27%, and 11 years and above in 38%. According to interpretative phenomenological analysis, two main themes emerge. Two main themes were determined: Perception of Sexuality and Sexual Problems. The results show that infertile women have a higher risk for sexual dysfunction than fertile women. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the diagnosis of infertility is an important factor in assessing the differences in the sexual satisfaction of women. In infertility counseling, health professionals must explain the gender differences. Also, infertile couples must encourage to share each other's feelings and this may help couples to cope with the communication problems they may experience.

Melanocytoma of the optic disk: A review

Melanocytoma is a deeply pigmented variant of melanocytic nevus that classically occurs in the optic disk, sometimes with contiguous involvement of the adjacent retina or choroid. Historically, this tumor was often confused with malignant melanoma both clinically and histopathologically. Today, however, it is generally recognized by its typical clinical features that differ from most melanomas and erroneous enucleation is rarely done. Histopathologically, melanocytoma is composed of intensely pigmented round to oval nevus cells with benign features. Although traditionally believed to be a relatively stationary lesion, it is now known to exhibit minor enlargement in 10--15% of cases and can cause minor visual loss by a variety of mechanisms. In rare instance, it can induce severe visual loss due to spontaneous necrosis of the lesion or compressive optic neuropathy. More importantly, it can exhibit malignant transformation into melanoma in 1--2% of cases. Ophthalmologists should be familiar with melanocytoma of the optic disk and affected patients should be followed periodically.