What is it?    |   Consultation    |   Procedure    |   Recovery    |   Safety & Risks

What is an Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, ICSI?

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) involves the direct injection of sperm into eggs obtained from in vitro fertilization (IVF).Intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI, is a technique developed to help achieve fertilization for couples with severe male factor infertility or couples who have had failure to fertilize in a previous in vitro fertilization attempt. ICSI might also be used where eggs cannot easily be penetrated by sperm, and occasionally as a method of in vitro fertilization, especially that associated with sperm donation. The procedure overcomes many of the barriers to fertilization and allows couples with little hope of achieving successful pregnancy to obtain fertilized embryos.

When is ICSI used?

ICSI may be recommended when there is a reason to suspect that achieving fertilization may be difficult. ICSI is most often used with couples who are dealing with male infertility factors.Male infertility factors can include any of the following problems: low sperm counts, poor motility or movement of the sperm, poor sperm quality, or sperm that lack the ability to penetrate an egg.

* Information has been taken from different online sources. Mostly from www.inser.com.co

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Consultation

A thorough evaluation is necessary for an accurate diagnosis.

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Procedure

There are basically five simple steps to ICSI which include the following:

Step 1: The mature egg is held with a specialized pipette.
Step 2: A very delicate, sharp, and hollow needle is used to immobilize and pick up a single sperm.
Step 3: This needle is then carefully inserted through the shell of the egg and into the cytoplasm of the egg.
Step 4: The sperm is injected into the cytoplasm, and the needle is carefully removed.
Step 5: The eggs are checked the following day for evidence of normal fertilization.

Once the steps of ICSI are complete and fertilization is successful, the embryo transfer procedure is used to physically place the embryo in the woman’s uterus. Then it is a matter of watching for early pregnancy symptoms. The fertility specialist may use a blood test or ultrasound to determine if implantation and pregnancy has occurred.

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Recovery from Surgery

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Safety & Risks

It is FlyClinic®´s concern to provide you comprehensive information about the surgery you want to choose, as well as important facts about the safety and risks of the procedure you selected.

There is some suggestion that birth defects are increased with the use of IVF in general, and ICSI specifically, though results of different studies differ. In a summary position paper, the Practice Committee of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine has said it considers ICSI safe and effective therapy for male factor infertility, but may carry an increased risk for the transmission of selected genetic abnormalities to offspring, either through the procedure itself or through the increased inherent risk of such abnormalities in parents undergoing the procedure.

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