Case report: Two successful pregnancies following the transfer of re-vitrified human day 7 blastocysts developed from vitrified cleaved embryos

PURPOSE: To report successful pregnancies after the transfer of re-vitrified human day 7 blastocysts developed from vitrified cleaved embryos. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of five day 7 blastocysts developed from vitrified cleaved embryos were re-vitrified and re-warmed. All of five re-vitrified day 7 blastocysts (100%) survived after warming and were transferred to three patients. Two of the women became clinically pregnant. Of these women, one woman delivered a healthy baby and the other pregnancy is ongoing at 26 weeks of gestation. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of successful pregnancies after the transfer of re-vitrified human day 7 blastocysts developed from vitrified cleaved embryos.     

Successful pregnancy resulting from cryopreserved pronuclear and cleaved embryos thawed and cultured to blastocysts,refrozen and transferred. A case report

BACKGROUND: Twice-frozen, thawed embryos may have utilization in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. CASE: A 37-year-old woman with endometriosis and infertility returned five years after a fresh IVF cycle. Seven cryopreserved embryos (2 pronuclear [pn] and cleaved) were thawed, and five developed to the blastocyst stage. One blastocyst was transferred, and the remaining four were recryopreserved. This transfer did not result in pregnancy. The remaining four blastocysts were thawed, and two were transferred resulting in a live, singleton delivery. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy can result from cryopreserved 2-pn and cleaved embryos cultured to blastocysts, refrozen and then transferred at the blastocyst stage.     

Successful pregnancies and deliveries after a simple vitrification protocol for day 3 human embryos

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of freezing cleaved human embryos through vitrification. DESIGN: Clinical study of vitrification of human embryos. SETTING: Assisted reproductive technology centers. PATIENT(S): Thirty-six patients undergoing IVF-ICSI treatment whose surplus embryos were frozen. INTERVENTION(S): Two hundred fifteen surplus embryos vitrified, subsequently thawed, and transferred in natural or controlled cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Embryo survival rate after thawing and resultant patient pregnancy rate. RESULT(S): From the 215 vitrified and thawed embryos, 106 survived, with an overall embryo survival rate of 49.3%. The survival rate was higher when embryos were vitrified at the eight-cell stage compared with at the six to seven-cell and six-cell stages (79.2%, 39.7%, and 21.1%, respectively). On average, 2.9 +/- 1.2 embryos per patient were transferred, resulting in 11 pregnancies (30.5%), with an implantation rate of 10.4% per embryo transferred. CONCLUSION(S): Ultrarapid embryo freezing by vitrification of eight-cell stage embryos is a reliable method, as evidenced by high rates of embryo survival and pregnancy, making it a superior alternative to the conventional slow-cooling method.     

Successful management of intrauterine twin and concomitant cervical pregnancy: a case report

Use of in vitro fertilization techniques increases the frequency of pathological implantation. However, simultaneous pregnancies are a rarity. Ectopic implantation of the embryo may occur in the cervical canal. This is the first case report, which describes successful management of an intrauterine twin pregnancy which occurred simultaneously with a cervical pregnancy. Diagnostic and therapeutic options are discussed along with the outcome of pregnancies. The cervical pregnancy was removed by aspiration, without dilation of cervical canal, which saved the lives of intrauterine fetuses and preserved fertility for following pregnancies. Finally we review the advanced methods in the literature.     

Clinical pregnancy rate following frozen embryo transfer is higher with blastocysts vitrified on day 5 than on day 6

Purpose

The aim of this study was to compare the pregnancy rates between good quality blastocysts vitrified on day 6 versus blastocysts vitrified on day 5 after fertilization.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of 791 freeze-thaw cycles of blastocysts vitrified either on day 5 or on day 6 and transferred between January 2012 and October 2015. Five hundred and thirty-seven cycles included blastocysts vitrified on day 5, and 254 cycles included blastocysts vitrified on day 6.

Results

The age of the patients and the proportion of embryos that survived the thawing process were comparable between the two groups. More good quality embryos were transferred in the group in which blastocysts were vitrified on day 6 (1.2 vs. 1.3, p?=?0.005), but the clinical pregnancy rate (44 vs. 33 %, p?=?0.002) and the ongoing pregnancy rate (41 vs. 28 %, p?<?0.001) were higher in the group in which blastocysts were vitrified on day 5. Multivariate regression analysis adjusting for patient’s age, number of good quality embryos transferred (≥3BB), and treatment protocol demonstrated that the day 6 vitrified group had a significantly lower clinical pregnancy rate compared to the day 5 vitrified group (OR 0.54, 95 % CI 0.38–0.76).

Conclusions

The clinical pregnancy rate following frozen embryo transfer is significantly lower with blastocysts vitrified on day 6 compared to blastocysts vitrified on day 5.

     

Cryopreservation of cleaving embryos and expanded blastocysts in the human: a comparative study

The survival and implantation capacity of cryopreserved cleaving (5-cell to 10-cell) human embryos and expanded blastocysts was compared. Twice as many cleaving embryos were frozen as were expanding blastocysts because of the low developmental potential of human embryos in vitro. However, significantly more expanded blastocysts survived cryopreservation than cleaving embryos, and relatively more pregnancies were established by the replacement of thawed blastocysts than by the replacement of thawed cleaving embryos. Cleaving embryos from 26 women were thawed; 17 had thawed embryos replaced, and 4 subsequently became pregnant. Expanded blastocysts were thawed from 23 other women; 15 had thawed blastocysts replaced, and 8 subsequently became pregnant. The pregnancy of one patient in each group aborted; both patients were over 40 years of age. It is estimated that by maintaining the current policy of replacing three fresh embryos and freezing any remaining embryos when they reach blastocyst stage, the total incidence of pregnancy would increase by 3%.     

Cryoloop vitrification of human day 3 cleavage-stage embryos: post-vitrification development, pregnancy outcomes and live births

Vitrification technology has shown great promise for cryopreservation of human embryos. The majority of this work has been with blastocyst-stage embryos. This report describes initial clinical results following vitrification of human embryos on day 3 of culture at the 6- to 8-cell stage. A total of 236 embryos were cryopreserved on cryoloops using a vitrification protocol. Warmed embryos were cultured until day 5 before transfer to the patient. The post-warming survival rate was 85%. The clinical pregnancy rate was 44% (34/77), and the implantation rate was 20% (40/201). In transfers where at least one warmed embryo reached the blastocyst stage by the day of transfer, the clinical pregnancy rate was 58% (28/48). The cryoloop was an excellent vessel for ultra-rapid cryopreservation of embryos. This study supports the effectiveness of a dimethylsulphoxide/ethylene glycol cryoprotectant combination for vitrification of human embryos at the 6- to 8-cell stage.     

Case report: successful delivery following the transfer of a human re-vitrified day-7 spontaneously hatched blastocyst developed from vitrified cleaved embryos

Purpose  

To report a successful delivery after the transfer of a re-cryopreserved day-7 hatched blastocyst.     

Pregnancy rates for single embryo transfer (SET) of day 5 and day 6 blastocysts after cryopreservation by vitrification and slow freeze

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to compare clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates in cycles with single embryo transfer (SET) of blastocysts cryopreserved on day 5 or day 6. Our aim was to determine whether day 6 blastocysts perform adequately to recommend SET.

Methods

Retrospective cohort study including 468 transfer cycles for 392 women younger than age 38 undergoing SET at a university-affiliated IVF clinic in the USA. A total of 261 day 5 blastocysts and 207 day 6 blastocysts for frozen-thawed SET between 2010 and 2016 were analyzed. Data included cryopreservation by both a slow freeze method and vitrification.

Results

In total, 59.0% of day 5 SET cycles resulted in a clinical pregnancy compared to 54.1% of day 6 blastocysts (p = 0.54). Ongoing pregnancy rates from day 5 frozen-thawed blastocysts (51.7%) were comparable to day 6 (44.9%, p = 0.14). When looking at vitrified blastocysts only, there were no significant differences between day 5 and day 6 blastocysts, with a clinical pregnancy rate of 69.2% for day 5 and 72.5% for day 6 (p = 0.68).

Conclusions

SETs of day 6 cryopreserved blastocysts resulted in similar clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates compared to day 5, particularly after vitrification.

     

慢速程序化冷冻与玻璃化冷冻对第3天分裂期胚胎发育潜能的影响

目的比较慢速程序化冷冻法（慢速法）和玻璃化冷冻法（玻璃化法）对第3天分裂期胚胎发育潜能的影响。方法选择因输卵管阻塞或男性少弱精因素行体外受精（IVF）或卵母细胞胞质内单精子注射（ICSI）治疗的患者,挑选在行IVF或ICSI后第3天剩余优质胚胎数目超过4个者80例进入本研究。随机将每例患者的2个胚胎用玻璃化法冷冻,另外2个用慢速法冷冻;冷冻复苏后随机抽取40例患者移植慢速法冷冻的胚胎,另40例患者移植玻璃化法冷冻的胚胎,比较2种冷冻方法对胚胎发育潜能的影响。结果冷冻复苏后待移植的胚胎共160个,其中慢速法冷冻80个,复苏后存活73个（91％,73／80）,移植后40例患者中15例（38％,15／40）获得临床妊娠,其中3例（20％,3／15）为双胎妊娠,余为单胎妊娠,胚胎着床率为25％（18／73）;玻璃化法冷冻胚胎80个,复苏后存活71个（89％,71／80）。移植后40例患者中19例（48％,19／40）获得临床妊娠,其中9例（47％,9／19）为双胎妊娠,余为单胎妊娠,胚胎着床率为39％（28／71）,与慢速法相比,玻璃化法的临床妊娠率和双胎妊娠率均有提高,但差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）,而胚胎着床率则显著提高,差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。结论玻璃化法能够更好地保存胚胎复苏后的发育潜能,更适合第3天分裂期胚胎的冷冻保存。     

Spontaneous uterine rupture of a twin pregnancy after a laparoscopic adenomyomectomy: a case report

Adenomyomectomy is a treatment option to preserve fertility and reduce symptoms associated with adenomyosis. Although this procedure is reasonably expected to increase the risk of uterine rupture during pregnancy, reports on this issue are scarce. We recently encountered a 33-year-old nulliparous woman with a twin pregnancy who experienced a spontaneous uterine rupture at 30 weeks' gestation. This patient was the first to conceive after undergoing laparoscopic adenomyomectomy at our institution. Her pregnancy was established with in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer 12 months after laparoscopic adenomyomectomy. The uterine rupture was heralded by a sudden onset of severe abdominal pain while she was receiving intravenous ritodrine. This case reinforces that pregnancy after adenomyomectomy should be closely monitored with respect to uterine rupture.     

Possible selection of viable human blastocysts after vitrification by monitoring morphological changes

Purpose

Morphological assessment of human blastocysts has been effective for selecting embryos with high potential. However, they often show repeated shrinkage and expansion toward their hatching. Here we assessed whether capturing morphological changes over time of vitrified–warmed blastocysts could lead to a better selection of viable embryos from shrunken blastocysts.

Methods

The implantation rates of vitrified–warmed blastocysts that were shrunken or expanded (developing) at the time of loading for transfer were compared among 2,729 cycles that were subjected to single blastocyst transfer. Vitrified (107) and fresh blastocysts (17) were donated for the experimental study. To assess the relationship between morphology (expanded vs. shrunken) and the mitochondrial respiration of blastocysts, the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) was analyzed for 55 specimens using an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. The remaining 69 blastocysts were used for recording morphological changes every 15 min for 48 h after warming.

Results

Because there were no surplus embryos, 7 % of the vitrified–warmed blastocysts were shrunken and transferred. The shrunken embryos had sufficient implantation ability (40 %). The OCR of the shrunken embryos was significantly lower than that of their expanded counterparts. Upon exposure to the uncoupler, the OCR of some shrunken embryos increased to levels similar to the expanded specimens. Time-lapse images revealed some shrunken embryos which formed blastocoel by 5 h following warming exhibited developmental competence to the hatched stage.

Conclusions

Data of the present study suggest a group of shrunken blastocysts contains many viable and clinically available embryos and time-lapse observation of vitrified–warmed blastocysts is a potential method to distinguish viable embryos from shrunken blastocysts.     

Successful management of a third-trimester pregnancy complicated by pheochromocytoma: case report

Abstract

Pheochromocytoma (PH) is a tumor that arises from chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla. Though being this benign neoplasm very rare in pregnancies, lack of treatment nevertheless causes high mortality rates for both the mother and the fetus. Classic symptoms related to PH are hypertension, abdominal pain, diaphoresis, and headache; but it can be easily misdiagnosed as gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. Its appearance is sporadic, but there are some genetic disorders that favor its onset (e.g. MEN 2A and 2B). Individual management is needed, because no single protocol is suitable in such a complex and rare condition. In this paper we describe our experience in the clinical and surgical management of a young pregnant patient affected by PH, and in particular the specific and unique pharmacological treatment with doxazosin, the use of corticosteroids and a close monitoring of fetal well-being, which proved being an effective approach.