Factors associated with successful pregnancy in women of late reproductive age with uterine fibroids who undergo embryo cryopreservation before surgery.

AIM: The objective of this study is to determine the factors associated with successful pregnancy in women of late reproductive age with uterine fibroids who undergo embryo cryopreservation before surgery (ECBS). METHODS: Patients who underwent in vitro fertilization treatment with controlled ovarian stimulation from November 2010 to January 2017 in our university hospital were included. Twenty-two patients older than 35 years of age at the first visit with cavity-distorting uterine fibroids underwent ECBS, a three-step therapeutic approach consisting of oocyte pick-up, myomectomy and embryo transfer (ET), which are performed in this order. We retrospectively calculated the pregnancy rate and determined the factors associated with successful pregnancy. RESULTS: The mean age at ET of the patients who underwent ECBS was 40.9 years, with a pregnancy rate per ET of 36.8% (21/57). Of 22 patients, 10 (45.5%) successfully continued pregnancy beyond 12 weeks of gestation (ongoing pregnancy). An ongoing pregnancy was observed only among the patients with more than three frozen embryos. The ongoing pregnancy rates of patients with ≤five fibroids and ≤5 cm in the maximal diameter were significantly higher compared to the respective remaining group (90.0% vs 14.3% and 87.5% vs 33.3%). CONCLUSION: ECBS is an effective strategy for infertile women of late reproductive age with cavity-distorting uterine fibroids, especially when it is applied to the patients who can freeze at least three embryos before myomectomy, with five or less fibroids smaller than 5 cm in the maximal diameter.