The Ovary

Oocyte and ovarian tissue cryopreservation - Recent advances in oocyte and ovarian tissue cryopreservation technology have brought hope not only to women facing premature loss of ovarian function, but also to healthy women seeking delayed motherhood. This is a major issue of contention in healthcare ethics. Proponents of this new technology argue that this enables women to pursue educational and career goals in their youth, so that they have greater financial security for children in later life. Nevertheless, this argument may be flawed by the reality that even if the cryopreservation of oocytes and ovarian tissue were optimized in the future, this would in no way be a guaranteed route for women to have biological children later in life.

Assessment of ovarian ageing and Dilemmas of Ovarian stimulation - The main objective of individualization of treatment in ART is to offer every single woman the best treatment tailored to her own unique characteristics, thus maximizing the chances of pregnancy and eliminating the iatrogenic and avoidable risks resulting from ovarian stimulation. Personalization of treatment in IVF should be based on the prediction of ovarian response for every individual. The starting point is to identify if a woman is likely to have a normal, poor or a hyper response and choose the ideal treatment protocol tailored to this prediction. 

The objective of this conference with the theme “The Ovary” is to review and summarize the predictive ability of ovarian reserve markers, such as antral follicle count (AFC) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), and the therapeutic strategies for ovarian stimulation, be it ovulation induction, super ovulation or controlled ovarian stimulation.

Endometriosis - The specific impact of endometrioma alone and the impact of surgical intervention for endometrioma on the reproductive outcome of women undergoing IVF/ICSI are areas that require further clarification. The objectives of this conference with regards to endometrioma are as follows: (i) to determine the impact of endometrioma on IVF/ICSI outcomes, (ii) to determine the impact of surgery for endometrioma on IVF/ICSI outcome and (iii) to determine the effect of different surgical techniques on IVF/ICSI outcomes.

PCOS - Treatment of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) with assisted reproductive techniques is a great challenge for the infertility specialist. Patients with PCOS demonstrate many problems, such as excessive body weight and hyperinsulinaemia, that render management more complex. In this conference topics covered under PCOS include ‘Innovations in ovulation induction (OI)’, ‘Treatment strategies in women who fails to conceive after 3 cycles of OI, Insulin resistance, Homocysteine and Pregnancy loss in PCOS : are they related?