Assisted hatching for persistent IVF failure.W de Carvalho & S Lee,
Portland Hospital Fertility Unit, London W1N 5HG The couple involved in
this case report had endured 8 years of primary infertility (Female aged
38 years: Male aged 39 years). The reason for infertility had been diagnosed
as endometriosis in the female. The semen analysis having proved normal.The
couple had previously undergone 3 IVF attempts, where on each occasion
3 embryos had been replaced, but to no avail as far as establishing ongoing
pregnancy.As with the previous IVF attempts, superovulation was carried
out using GnRH and FSH. At egg collection, 5 eggs were obtained. After
48 hours, there were 3 embryos of good morphology available for transfer.These
were placed on the micromanipulation stage. each egg was lanced at a site
chosen at random, thereby carrying out assisted hatching. These embryos
were replaced into the uterus via a Cook catheter.The female patient subsequently
became pregnant and recently delivered a 3kg baby boy.