July2007
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
| Greetings,
One of the most incredible forms of assisted
reproductive technology is intracytoplasmic sperm
injection, or ICSI. With ICSI, fertility experts and
embryologists are able to assist men who have the
most severe types of male-factor infertility become
biological fathers.
ICSI takes advantage of the fact that only one good cell
is needed to fertilize an egg.
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What it is
As it's name says, ICSI is a technique in which a
single sperm cell is injected into the cytoplasm of an
egg cell. Using specially designed micro-tools, a
sperm cell is literally sucked into a pipette, a hollow
glass needle, from the prepared semen sample in
petri dish. Then, the exterior "shell" of an egg cell is
perforated with the pipette and the sperm is slid into
the egg's interior.
ICSI is performed in conjunction with in vitro
fertilization (IVF), so embryos that result from the
procedure are transferred to the mother's uterus (or
frozen for later use) about three to five days after
fertilization.
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When it's done
When IVF is performed without ICSI, the sperm and
egg cells are simply placed in a petri dish filled with
special fluid and the wait begins to see if fertilization
will occur. With ICSI, there is no wondering about
whether or not fertilization will occur. ICSI can make
fertilization happen for individuals with various
conditions.
ICSI is by far outstanding in its application to treat
male infertility, such as low sperm count, poor motility
(movement), and poor morphology (shape). Even in
cases where a man's semen sample shows no
sperm cells, different retrieval techniques can be used
to aspirate or biopsy as many individual cells as
possible. These hard-to-find cells can then be used to
fertilize egg cells.
For couples who have tried IVF unsuccessfully, ICSI
can sometimes solve the mystery and result in
pregnancy.
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The results
When skilled embryologists use this technique, ICSI
increases the probability of fertilization to as much as
85 percent. ICSI is responsible for the biological
fatherhood of thousands of men who might otherwise
never be able to produce a pregnancy.
As with all assisted reproductive technology, we
expect interested patients to have questions. I and my
staff invite you to bring us your concerns about
whether or not ICSI is right for your personal situation.
Sincerely,
Sonja B. Kristiansen, MD
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