Objective: To report a novel fertility preservation strategy in a woman with recurrent serous borderline ovarian tumor in the conserved ovary involving ex-vivo retrieval of in vivo matured oocytes and subsequent embryo cryopreservation.
Design: Case report.
Setting: Tertiary infertility care unit.
Patient(s): A 27-year-old woman presented for follow-up visit with a history of borderline serous adenocarcinoma treated conservatively with left oophorectomy and fertility-sparing laparoscopic staging. Ultrasound scan revealed a recurrent disease in the right ovary.
Intervention(s): Ex-vivo retrieval of mature oocytes after ovarian stimulation.
Main outcome measure(s): Fertility preservation.
Result(s): The patient underwent ovarian stimulation followed by a laparotomy and oophorectomy on the day of oocyte retrieval. A puncture of the follicles was performed in the operating theatre with a maximum ischemia time of 14 minutes. Eleven mature oocytes were aspirating, resulting in seven zygotes for cryopreservation.
Conclusion(s): Mature oocytes can be successfully retrieved ex-vivo from the oophorectomy specimen after a controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) protocol. This method provides a possible strategy for fertility preservation in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer without the risk of cancer cells spillage associated with the standard transvaginal oocyte retrieval.
Copyright © 2011 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.