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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on July 27, 2006
Human Reproduction 2006 21(12):3235-3240; doi:10.1093/humrep/del278
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Perioperative and post-operative complications of transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval: prospective study of >1000 oocyte retrievals

A.K. Ludwig1, M. Glawatz, G. Griesinger, K. Diedrich and M. Ludwig

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck 23538, Germany. E-mail: a.k.ludwig{at}web.de

BACKGROUND: Although transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrievals (OR) are performed routinely worldwide, there is very little systematic data about its complications. METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study following the perioperative and post-operative complications of over 1058 ORs. Additionally, we assessed the pain experienced during the OR. RESULTS: A total of 1166 OR were performed during the study period, of which 1058 (90.7%) ORs were included prospectively. Incomplete data meant that the remaining 9.3% were excluded. No complications were caused by sedation or general anaesthesia. Vaginal bleeding was observed in 2.8% of procedures, without any cases of intra-abdominal bleeding. An injury of pelvic structures (a ureteral lesion) occurred in one case. No case of pelvic infection, but one case of unexplained fever, was observed. A severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) occurred in 2.7% of cases. Although most patients tolerated the OR well, 3% of patients experienced severe to very severe pain after the OR and 2% of patients were still suffering from severe pain 2 days after the procedure. The pain level increased with the number of oocytes retrieved. About 0.7% of patients required hospitalization for pain treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Patients can be reassured that overall OR is a safe procedure. However, patients have to be counselled about the minor risks of the OR. The literature on complications is reviewed in the article.

Key words: bleeding/complications/oocyte aspiration/oocyte retrieval


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