Ovarian tissue collection for cryopreservation in pediatric age: laparoscopic technical tips

Mario Lima; Tommaso Gargano; Raffaella Fabbri; Michela Maffi; Francesca Destro

doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2013.11.002

Ovarian tissue collection for cryopreservation in pediatric age: laparoscopic technical tips

J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2014 Apr;27(2):95-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2013.11.002.

Authors

Mario Lima¹, Tommaso Gargano², Raffaella Fabbri³, Michela Maffi², Francesca Destro²

Affiliations

¹ Pediatric Surgery Unit, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Pediatric Surgery Unit, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
³ Gynecology & Pathophysiology of Human Reproduction Unit, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy.

PMID: 24602303
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2013.11.002

Abstract

As the number of young girls subjected to chemo and radiotherapy is steadily increasing it is our duty to try to preserve their future fertility and ovarian function. A possibility is to collect ovarian samples, cryopreserve them and reimplant the tissue when the treatments are over. We report our 11 year experience with the use of laparoscopy to collect ovarian tissue samples. In particular we focus on the details of the surgical technique. The procedure was performed in 54 patients affected by malignancies or pathologies requiring chemo or radiotherapy, with good results. Cryopreservation seems to be a good option to preserve future fertility although it is still an experimental method.

Keywords: Fertility preservation; Laparoscopy; Ovarian cryopreservation.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Cryopreservation*
Female
Fertility Preservation*
Humans
Laparoscopy / methods*
Neoplasms / drug therapy*
Neoplasms / radiotherapy
Ovary*
Patient Positioning
Tissue and Organ Harvesting / methods*