Press Releases

Fertility Breakthrough at Houston Fertility Institute

Jimmy Gill, M.D., Traci DeSplinter, M.D.
REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY
Wei-Hua Wang, Ph.D.
EMBRYOLOGY

Dr. Jimmy Gill and Dr. Wei-Hua Wang recently discovered a way to look more closely at women's eggs without damaging them, opening the door to improve the
treatment of infertility.

Physicians and embryologists at the Houston Fertility Institute can now observe and assess the majority of the eggs' spindle, enabling them to determine which eggs are most suitable for fertilization. This technique also offers improved diagnosis of infertility in middle-aged women.

This technology includes the use of an instrument called a LC polscope which offers a clear view of a critical but fragile structure within the eggs, known as a spindle.

The spindle's job is to gather up, then tease apart the egg's 23 chromosomes which carry genes bearing the code to life. If anything goes wrong with the spindle, chromosomes may not divide correctly, resulting in chromosomal abnormalities which may lead to a failure to conceive or miscarriages. As women age, the spindle in their eggs becomes less sturdy. Doctors have long understood the critical role of the spindle, but they have never before been able to observe it without destroying the eggs.

Traditionally, in vitro fertilization has involved the transfer of multiple embryos. The result has been an increase in the number of triplets and even higher order multiples.

This new instrument allows us to pick out and transfer only the healthiest embryos, resulting in fewer multiple births and decreasing the chances of damage to the spindle and chromosomes during an IVF procedure.

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