Egg Retrieval Is an Important Milestone in IVF Treatment

When patients have exhausted their options and feel like parenthood is improbable, IVF treatment enables David T. Vandermolen MD, MS, to offer hope. With IVF, we perform a series of steps to create embryos and transfer them to the female patient’s uterus, increasing the odds of pregnancy. Egg retrieval is one of the final, and most crucial, steps in this process.

Preparing for egg retrieval

Typically, IVF treatment takes four to six weeks. Patients often move to IVF when treatments such as fertility medications or intrauterine insemination (IUI) don’t produce results. Several steps of preparation are needed before egg retrieval can occur.

• Our Northern Louisiana fertility doctor will prescribe medications to regulate your cycle and control the timing of ovulation.
• You will take injectable fertility medicines to stimulate your ovaries, so that they produce multiple eggs in one cycle.
• We will monitor your progress in our office through blood work and ultrasound. Because the eggs are very tiny, the ultrasound enables our team to measure the number and size of the egg follicles.
• When the eggs reach the appropriate stage, you will take a “trigger shot” to ensure final maturation of the eggs.
• For optimal results, the trigger shot needs to occur approximately 36 hours before the retrieval.

A closer look at egg retrieval for IVF treatment

Dr. Vandermolen performs the retrieval process in our clinic. On the day of the procedure, you will arrive about one hour before your scheduled appointment time. For patient safety, we request that you do not eat or drink after midnight.

Before your retrieval, we will administer a mild sedative to minimize discomfort and allow you to feel relaxed. During the retrieval, our Northern Louisiana fertility doctor uses ultrasound to guide a thin instrument through your vagina and into each ovary, to extract the eggs from the ovaries. Following the retrieval, the embryologist will combine the eggs and sperm together in the laboratory and monitor them for embryo development.

What happens next?

Patients are taken to recovery after our Northern Louisiana fertility doctor completes the aspiration of the eggs. Most individuals spend about an hour with us afterwards, so that we can monitor vitals and allow patients to awaken more fully from the anesthesia. We recommend an afternoon of rest at home and returning to normal activities the following day.

IVF treatment may feel time-consuming and overwhelming. At ArkLaTex Fertility, Dr. Vandermolen and our team offer exceptional care before, during and after the IVF process, including during egg retrieval. Contact our office for more information.