Dr. K and her Patients in the News
Male Infertility - Varicolectomy Vs IVF/ICSI - One Couples Decision
Tammy and Chris Oczkowski
Fox 26 September 6, 2003 Video
My wife and I tried to have children for more than 5 years to only confront
disappointment month after month. About 3 years ago, we elected to go for
fertility tests, the results showed that my wife’s hormone levels were normal
and that there was a minor issue with quality of my sperm, but the doctors
assured us that the sperm count was high enough to negate the concern. Armed
with this information we tried all kinds of tricks that we read about which
ranged from precisely timing sexual activities with the help of ovulation kits
to my wife tilting her pelvis for several minutes following intercourse. For
the next 2 years we continued to try conceiving without luck.
As we reached our thirties, my wife’s maternal instinct and my desire to start a
family became more pronounced. At this point we began to look for professional
assistance. Our random search for fertility specialist started with Dr. Sonja
Kristiansen, MD.
Dr. Sonja Kristiansen started with the basics, fertility tests for the both of
us. Within a couple of days we had the answer to our problem. The issue pointed
back to the sperm quality. I was diagnosed with Varicocele, which is when one or
both veins supplying the testicles allow too much blood to flow into the scrotum.
Current medicine believes that too much blood in the testicles results in
excessive heat, which causes sperm to develop too quickly thus abnormally.
We were given three options: Varicocelectomy (repair the Varicocele to reduce
blood flow into the scrotum), in-vitro fertilization, adoption or continue on
without change. After discussing the choices with Dr. Kristiansen and careful
consideration, my wife and I elected in-vitro fertilization.
Within days we began in-vitro treatment. The treatment included several visits
to the doctor’s office, injections that increased my wife’s egg count so they
could be retrieved, fertilized, and then transferred back into her uterus. Just
a few weeks later, nineteen individual sperm were collected, nineteen eggs were
retrieved from her ovaries and each fertilized in a petri-dish utilizing a
microscopic needle, a procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
For 5 days, the fertilized eggs were allowed to grow outside of her. Upon
returning to Dr. Kristiansen’s office we were shown an absolutely incredible site;
19 embryos, which combined, could barely be seen by the naked eye and were
smaller than the tiniest spec of dust. Under a microscope we could clearly see
the individual cells of the embryos. Dr. Kristiansen communicated the historical
percentages for the likely hood that each embryo would survive; my wife and I
elected to transfer three embryos back into the uterus.
14 long days later, my wife took a blood test, which indicated the procedure was
successful! Seven months later, we experienced the birth of a happy, healthy
6lb 6.5oz baby boy.
My wife describes her experience with Dr. Kristiansen and infertility;
“The day I felt movement for the first time was the most incredible feeling I’ve
ever experienced; at that moment I knew how real this baby was and what a true
blessing this baby was going to be. It was then that I realized none of this
may have been possible if not for the expertise of a wonderful fertility specialist
such as Dr. Sonia Kristiansen. There are no words that can express how I feel
about her and thank you just does not seem like enough.”
I describe my experience with Dr. Kristiansen and infertility;
“The first night all of us came home from the hospital and I sat in the rocking chair
holding our new baby boy; I began to reflect on our experience over the past five years.
The magnitude of the miracle that I was holding in my arms, finally hit me, all my
emotions came quickly and I began to cry. Dr. Kristiansen was the one who made my
dreams come true.”
UPDATE: Both the Journal of American Medical Association and its British equivalent
the Lancet published a report in the summer of 2003 that studies of pregnancy
rates post Varicolectomies showed no improvement. The report concluded that while
Varicolectomies are widely performed, no study has proven that this procedure
actually improves the pregnancy rate.