ABSTRACT
Immature oocyte retrieval is another treatment option recently presented for PCOS patients. Edwards65, in 1965, leading up to the first invitro fertilization (IVF), studied in-vitro maturation (IVM) in mammalian species including human oocytes65. It was not until 1991, when Cha et al.66 reported the use of immature oocytes excised from ovarian tissue, that the full clinical potential was actually realized. Cha established a triplet pregnancy with immature oocytes after they were matured, fertilized, and then transferred as frozen-thawed embryos to a recipient during a donor oocyte cycle. In 1994, Trounson et al.67 brought the clinical feasibility of IVM with immature oocytes to PCOS patients when they were able to retrieve immature oocytes with u/s guidance transvaginally. They matured the immature oocytes, fertilized them, and then transferred embryos to the intrauterine cavity during the same cycle from which the oocytes were retrieved. This was a tremendous breakthrough for patients who had had a very difficult time with the use of gonadotropins and the high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation and the associated complications. Since that time, several other groups have reported successful transvaginal u/s guided oocyte retrieval, maturation, fertilization, transfer, and implantation68-70. IVM is now being used throughout the world in a select group of patients.
