Relationship of follicular size to the development of intracytoplasmic sperm injection-derived human embryos.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the embryonic development of oocytes obtained from follicles of different sizes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Oocytes (n = 819) were retrieved from women at 40 years of age or younger during 86 in vitro fertilization cycles and categorized as small, medium, or large based on the estimated volume of follicular fluid at the time of retrieval. RESULTS: The rates of good quality embryos from the large, medium, and small groups on days 2 and 3 were 76.85% and 66.20%, 74.00% and 61.33%, and 69.81% and 58.49%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the rates of good quality embryos between the three follicular volume groups. CONCLUSION: Even though fewer oocytes completed maturation in the small follicle group than in the other two groups, the quality of the embryos in all three groups was the same on days 2 and 3. These findings suggest that follicles of all sizes should be aspirated during the intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycle as follicles of every size were a good source of embryos.

Comparison of day 2 tubal embryo transfer with day 3 embryo transfer into the uterus of intracytoplasmic sperm injection derived human embryos.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of embryo transfer into the uterus (ET) performed on day 3 vs. tubal embryo transfer (TET) on day 2 in couples diagnosed with male factor infertility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected data from 34 and 110 patients who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) followed by either TET on day 2 or ET on day 3 (January 2001-June 2005), respectively. All couples were diagnosed with male factor infertility; there were no tubal or uterine factors, diminished ovarian reserve, pelvic adhesions, history of polycystic ovary syndrome or previous ovarian surgery. RESULTS: The clinical pregnancy rates of day 2 TET and day 3 ET following ICSI were 64.71% and 57.27% (p > 0.05), respectively. The corresponding implantation rates were 35.47% and 29.58% (p > 0.05), respectively. CONCLUSION: The implantation and clinical pregnancy rates of ET on the 3rd day following ICSI were similar to the rates obtained with TET 2 days after ICSI. Therefore, ET performed 3 days after ICSI should be the first choice for couples with male factor infertility, while day 2 TET remains a good alternative, especially for women with normal tubal function and known difficulties of transcervical ET.