The Addition of Endometrial Injury to Freeze-All Strategy in Women with Repeated Implantation Failures.

(1) Background: Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) after IVF remains a challenging topic for fertility specialists and a frustrating reality for patients with infertility. Various approaches have been investigated and applied towards the improvement of clinical outcomes. Through a nonrandomized clinical trial, we evaluated the effect of the combination of hysteroscopic endometrial injury and the freeze-all technique on pregnancy parameters in a cohort of RIF patients; (2) Methods: The study group comprised of 30 patients with RIF that underwent a hysteroscopic endometrial injury prior to a frozen embryo transfer cycle; another 30 patients with RIF, comprising the control group, underwent a standard frozen cycle with no adjuvant treatment before. Live birth comprised the primary outcome. Logistic and Poisson regression analyses were implemented to reveal potential independent predictors for all outcomes. (3) Results: Live birth rates were similar between groups (8/30 vs. 3/30, p = 0.0876). Biochemical and clinical pregnancy and miscarriages were also independent of the procedure (p = 0.7812, p = 0.3436 and p = 0.1213, respectively). The only confounding factor that contributed to biochemical pregnancy was the number of retrieved oocytes (0.1618 ± 0.0819, p = 0.0481); (4) Conclusions: The addition of endometrial injury to the freeze-all strategy in infertile women with RIF does not significantly improve pregnancy rates, including live birth. A properly conducted RCT with adequate sample size could give a robust answer.

Endometrial injury for patients with endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome undergoing medically assisted reproduction: current data and a protocol.

We propose a study protocol capable of improving clinical outcomes following medically assisted reproduction (MAR) in infertile women with endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The proposed research derives from the published evidence on the positive impact from endometrial injury (EI) and the beneficial nature of the intervention towards improved implantation rates. We primarily refer to the cluster of events and hypotheses, such as the mechanical cascade, the inflammatory response per se, the events accompanying wound healing, the immune cell recruitment and protein involvement, alterations in gene expression and the neo-angiogenesis theories, which have been previously investigated for this purpose. We are also exploring the possible problems in MAR cycles with negative outcomes in PCOS and endometriosis patients and we are proposing potential mechanisms on how this intervention might work. Our hypothesis states that the EI before the initiation of the MAR cycle can affect clinical pregnancy rates in patients with the aforementioned pathologies.

Leiomyomas and infertility.

Leiomyomas are the commonest benign tumor in the female reproductive tract. Even though their role on infertility is still questionable, evidence to date suggest that the anatomic location may be related to reproductive outcomes. Several possible mechanisms suggest that leiomyomas may affect fertility, especially in terms of the anatomical distortion of endometrial cavity, the abnormal uterine contractility, reduced blood supply to the endometrium and altered endometrial receptivity. The effect of leiomyomas on IVF outcomes has been the subject of many studies; however, a definitive direction is yet required to adjust clinical management accordingly. Management of leiomyomas is challenging in terms of clinical decision, especially among subfertile patients, since potential treatment complications and their consequences in endometrial dynamics should be also accounted. Expectant management is recommended for asymptomatic patients, whereas in symptomatic subfertile patients, medical and/ or surgical management is usually recommended.