IVF Infertility Treatment Philadelphia
BABY BOOSTER NO 3: SURGERY — WHEN THERE’S A PLUMBING ISSUE, WHETHER IT’S FROM FIBROIDS, A TUBAL LIGATION OR SOMETHING ELSE
You had your tubes tied (but now you want them untied), you have fibroids — noncancerous growths, on, in, or inside of the uterus that increase the risk of miscarriages or can prevent pregnancy — or you have a blockage in your fallopian tubes. “A blockage can be secondary to an infection like gonorrhea or due to scarring from an ectopic pregnancy, ovarian cyst removal, or appendicitis,” says Dr. Fossum. “It can also be due to endometriosis, a condition where the tissue lining the uterus begins to grow outside of it.”
Front-line treatment: Precise, minimally invasive surgery using the da Vinci machine, a state-of-the-art, doctor-controlled, robotic system. Formally only used for prostate operations, da Vinci surgery has only been available for women’s health issues in the tri-state area within the last three years.
How it works: “We go in through the belly button,” says Dr. Fossum, one of the first doctors in the area to begin using da Vinci. “We’re able to do big things on the inside while doing small cuts on the outside.” What this means for you? Less pain, less blood loss, and less scarring.
How it will affect your life: “It’s a really fast recovery,” says Dr. Fossum. “Patients recover in a day or two as opposed to six weeks.”
Success rate: “It’s about 70 percent for patients without any other infertility factors that are under age 36,” says Dr. Fossum.
Average local cost: $10,000 to $25,000
Possible side effects: Less complications than with traditional open surgery, but a greater number of larger incisions than in laparoscopic procedures.
Octo-mom risk: N/A
Where it’s available: Jefferson University Hospital Center for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, 834 Chestnut St.; Abington Reproductive Medicine, Abington; The Crozer Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility Center, Upland.
BABY BOOSTER NO 4: IUI — WHEN YOUR PARTNER HAS LOW SPERM COUNT OR LOW MOTILITY
