Female reproductive system, Opens dialog

Treatment Overview

Some people who are infertile, Opens dialog are affected by conditions that prevent the sperm and egg from traveling through a fallopian tube, Opens dialog. (This is where fertilization and the first stage of cell division take place.) Here are some assisted reproductive technology (ART), Opens dialog procedures that are rarely used but may improve the chances of conception in the fallopian tubes. The first step of each of these treatments is superovulation, Opens dialog. This uses medicines to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs.

Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) uses multiple eggs collected from the ovaries. The eggs are placed into a thin flexible tube (catheter) along with the sperm to be used. The gametes (both eggs and sperm) are then injected into the fallopian tubes using a surgical procedure called laparoscopy, Opens dialog. The doctor will use general anesthesia, Opens dialog.

Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) is similar to GIFT, but also uses in vitro fertilization (IVF), Opens dialog. Eggs are stimulated and collected using IVF methods. Then the eggs are mixed with sperm in the lab. Fertilized eggs (zygotes) are then returned to the fallopian tubes with laparascopic surgery. From there, they will be carried into the uterus. The goal is for the zygote to implant in the uterus and develop into a fetus.

Pronuclear stage tubal transfer (PROST), similar to ZIFT, uses in vitro fertilization. But it transfers the fertilized egg to the fallopian tube before cell division occurs.

These procedures have higher costs and risks related to laparoscopy. And they don't provide as much useful information about embryo development as IVF does. For these reasons, these procedures are rarely used.