What is ICSI?
For successful fertilization of man’s sperm and women’s egg, sperm’s head should penetrate through the egg wall and sperm has to swim into the cytoplasm of the mature egg. In this scenario, if the egg wall is too thick to be penetrated or sperm is not able to swim through the cytoplasm of the egg because of its motility issues, Intracytoplasmic sperm cell injection can be the savior here.
What is the medium used for this procedure?
Hyaluronic acid is used as a medium for identifying better-quality sperm. This medium can selectively bind with sperms having normal DNA and in this way, a fertility specialist can easily find the more mature sperm for the formation of a healthy embryo.
Who can get help from this intracytoplasmic sperm injection?
- If the male partner is having some fertility issues i.e male infertility factor
- Poor semen quality
- Decreased sperm count or oligospermia
- Reduced sperm motility or asthenozoospermia
- Previous history of failed fertilization with IVF procedure
- Abnormally shaped sperms or teratozoospermia
- Unexplained infertility
To increase the chances of successful fertilization and pregnancy, nowadays in most IVF cases, ICSI is done along with IVF procedure. Sometimes in reversal vasectomy cases also ICSI is introduced to make sure that fertilization can happen without any complications as in these cases there are chances of sperm destruction by the antibodies produced by the male partner’s body.
What is unexplained infertility?
If you are having a good amount of egg count, proper thickness of endometrium lining with a healthy uterus and fallopian tube without any blockage, even after that you are unable to conceive, your doc might diagnose this condition as unexplained infertility.
What are the other conditions where ICSI is required?
- In case of retrograde ejaculation i.e. if sperms are coming out in a different way rather than the usual one ( from testicular extraction or through urine)
- To make the frozen sperms active
- In the case of frozen oocytes hardening of eggshells can be overcome by the ICSI procedure
- If there is no previous history of fertilized eggs even after the normal sperm count of the male partner, in this case, IVF is combined with ICSI.
Is intracytoplasmic sperm injection the only solution for infertility?
If you have already undergone fertility drugs, other available treatment options suggested by your gynecologists, and other nonsurgical procedures, and all these have not worked, then only you should consider this as your treatment option.
What is the procedure of getting intracytoplasmic sperm injection done?
The intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure is mostly technique sensitive and can be done under your fertility specialist’s supervision.
- At the first step, semen is collected from the male partner through natural ejaculation or the fertility specialists will remove it surgically.
- After the retrieval of those sperms, they have to be kept in a frozen condition in the fertility lab
- In the meantime, mature eggs are also harvested from the female partner during her ovulation period and they are collected with the help of an ultrasonic probe and fine needle. The whole procedure will not be painful but you might feel a little bit of vaginal bleeding or bruise around the area.
- After the collection of semen, sperm are immediately retrieved, washed, and seminal fluid debris all are removed to make sperm content more concentrated and to avoid any kind of irritation in the uterine wall.
- With the help of a hollow tube, sperms are injected into the cytoplasm of matured eggs. It will take around 24 hours to fertilize and form the embryo.
- Here the necessity of swimming of mature sperms is eliminated as they are directly being injected into the cytoplasm of mature eggs.
- Your fertility specialists will monitor the progression of the fertilized embryo kept in the lab and they will track the growth and development of the embryo. This step is very important for further progression as the healthiest embryo should be transplanted into the uterus.
- You can tell your fertility specialists to keep other healthy embryos in store if there are any for further cycles of IVF.
- After 2-5 days of fertilization, healthy embryos can be transferred by ultrasonic probe guiding catheter into the uterus.
- After almost 2 weeks you can go for a pregnancy test to confirm that the treatment is working or not.
How much time will it take to undergo such a procedure?
The surgical procedure of embryo implantation will take 30 mins to 1 hour
How much time should a patient stay in the hospital after the procedure?
After the in vitro fertilization surgery, the patient can go home on the very same day.
What are the risks you can have after going through the procedure?
There are chances of infection during the insertion of the catheter through the vagina or cervix.
Your medical personnel will take proper care of the fact that all the surgical instruments should be sterilized before undergoing the procedure.
In which conditions intracytoplasmic sperm injection is not recommended?
- In the case of women with severe endometriosis
- If the woman is having a history of pelvic fracture or any trauma to that area.
- Fallopian tube disease
- Infection in the pelvic region
In the above-mentioned cases, even after doing successful intracytoplasmic sperm injection, the outcome is not expected as in these conditions a woman cant conceive properly and thus there might be chances of miscarriages. You can always opt for other surgical or nonsurgical options along with your doctor and explore the possibilities.
To know more about the other infertility treatment options you can go through our previous blog by clicking on the link below:
Some FAQs you should ask your fertility specialist before undergoing such procedures?
- What will be your pregnancy chances if you go through this procedure?
- What is the live birth rate for the couple who has undergone this procedure under your doctor’s supervision?
- What are the chances of having twins or multiple births?
- How much does it cost to undergo hormonal therapy that will be a part of this intracytoplasmic sperm injection process if there is any?
- What is the successful pregnancy rate in the couple’s age group?
What are the possible risks you might face after undergoing the procedure?
The most common risk involved in intracytoplasmic sperm injection is Multiple pregnancies. To avoid this many fertile women want to go for a single egg transfer into their uterus. To transfer the healthiest single embryo, your fertility specialist will wait until a certain mature stage of the embryo named blastocyst to implant it successfully into the uterine wall. Other extra good quality eggs(if there are any) can be frozen for future purposes if this IVF with ICSI becomes unsuccessful which is more unlikely to happen.
How is the success rate of IVF along with the ICSI procedure?
There are 80%-85% chances of successful fertilization i.e. 8/10 cases will be fertile.
ICSI along with IVF makes the fertilization rate exceptional but a similar outcome can be expected for both cases.
Will all the eggs be injected with the retrieved mature sperm?
Only the mature eggs are injected with sperm and only your IVF specialist can tell you whether the eggs are mature or not.
Is there any difference between the embryo quality of ICSI and the NonICSI procedure?
There is no such evidence of a difference in the embryo quality of both procedures.
What are the FAQs you should ask your surgeon about after an intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure?
- What are all the medications you have to take?
- Will there be any follow-up visits?
- When can you resume your work and regular lifestyle?
- When can you start doing exercises?
- How to do the postoperative wound management and when the stitches will be removed if they are there?
What are some FAQs you should ask your surgeon about the Intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure during the first-time consultation?
- What is the success rate of in vitro fertilization transplant surgeries done by your surgeon?
- When should I opt for ICSI?
- Is male infertility can cause miscarriage?
- What are the reasons for female infertility?
- I have PCOS. Should I be worried about it and it can lead to female infertility?
How to choose doctors if you want to go for an intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure?
- You can go through the reviews of those who have already been through intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedures in multiple medical forums and if you are worried about some negative review, you can always consult with your doctor about the matter.
- Look for the experience of gynecologists and fertility specialists and positive patient stories.
- You can also look for the success rate of intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedures done by your surgeon. Some evidence-based studies show increased embryo yield from the matured eggs after the introduction of the ICSI procedure.
Who are the best doctors for performing intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedures?
An experienced and board-certified gynecologist and fertility specialist can perform the procedure. And make sure to check the accreditation of the hospital or the fertility center from where you are getting your in vitro fertilization along with intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure done.
Why should you go for the intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure in India?
Along with the high-quality lifestyle here in India, you will get well-experienced and skilled surgeons who are comfortable with the best and latest available technology. You will get personalized care from trained medical personnel.
Any botched-up case of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure in India?
To date no such cases have been reported as here in India, surgeons are way more skilled and experienced. But to avoid these kinds of cases, you should choose your doctors carefully.
Do you feel that the cost is way out of your budget? Are you looking for insurance?
Though the cost may vary according to the place you live in, medication, procedure cost, follow-up, or monitoring costs, your insurance company might not provide the procedure cost and can only provide the follow-up costs.
You can consult with your financial advisor related to the matter and explore the possibilities along with your surgeon. Though nowadays EMI facilities are available in some financial agencies. Even after that, you are feeling it’s difficult for you to avail yourself of the insurance, you can always ask your doctor to write one letter to your insurer describing the importance of this procedure. If your insurance company provides coverage also, it will bear a partial amount of its budget. So make sure you read the details and go for it. Even if your insurance company bears it now, you might have to pay a higher premium for later.