Ms. Huang, who has been infertile for five years
Painless egg retrieval is truly my savior!
Ms. Huang, who has been troubled by polycystic ovary syndrome for five years without conceiving, recalls: “I’ve been trying to conceive for five years, tried many methods but couldn’t get pregnant. In the last 2 years, I wanted to undergo IVF but was afraid of the pain, couldn’t make up my mind, was torn inside. Fortunately, my wish eventually overcame my fear. On July 20, I smoothly entered the IVF cycle. During the follow-up visit, I gathered the courage to tell the doctor about my situation, asked if the egg retrieval surgery would be very painful. The doctor reassured me that it takes about 10 days for ovarian stimulation. By the time it’s my turn for egg retrieval, the egg retrieval surgery under anesthesia at our center should have already begun, which is very friendly to patients with polycystic ovary syndrome and difficult ovarian positions. You fall asleep at the start of the surgery and wake up at the end, very relaxed, telling me not to put too much pressure on myself. Finally, on August 1, I underwent painless egg retrieval surgery at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital’s Assisted Reproduction Center, successfully retrieving 23 eggs. After the surgery, I was so excited that tears flowed, feeling much relieved and a step closer to my goal.”
Since July 22, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital’s Reproductive Medicine Center, in collaboration with the Anesthesiology Department, has officially launched painless egg retrieval under intravenous anesthesia, creating a more comfortable IVF service. After the promotion of this service, batches of patients have experienced the “painless” comfort.
Professor Xia Xi, Deputy Director of the Reproductive Medicine Center at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, stated: Promoting painless egg retrieval can psychologically reassure women, alleviate stress, especially for those extremely sensitive to pain, with concurrent endometriosis, special ovarian positions, or a high number of follicles. Opting for painless egg retrieval can greatly reduce pain, shorten the operation time, thus enhancing the comfort and smoothness of the egg retrieval process.
With medical advances nowadays, intravenous anesthesia generally uses fast-acting and rapidly metabolizing drugs, with an anesthesiologist closely monitoring vital signs during anesthesia. For healthy adults, this has no impact and certainly does not make one “stupid.” The significance of painlessness is not merely about relieving patients of pain but also ensuring physical safety and individual comfort.
At the Reproductive Medicine Center, for every painless egg retrieval surgery, an anesthesiologist accompanies the procedure throughout. Presently, ultrasonography-guided fine needle puncture for egg retrieval is quick, with skilled techniques, less anesthesia drugs used per patient, and immediate recovery post-surgery.
Compared to the egg retrieval process without anesthesia, painless egg retrieval not only significantly reduces pain but also helps eliminate patients’ fear of surgery, ensuring smoother operation.
The drawback of “painless” is that a few patients may experience mild dizziness, nausea, vomiting shortly after the procedure, which can be relieved by resting in a supine position. Though opting for painless egg retrieval ensures patient comfort, medical expenses may increase, mainly due to the continuous monitoring of vital signs by the anesthesiologist and the cost of anesthesia drugs and supplies.
Does using anesthesia affect the quality of eggs?
Existing domestic and international studies have shown that post-anesthesia, the concentration of anesthetic drugs in the follicular fluid of patients is very low, basically not affecting the quality of patients’ eggs. The number of eggs retrieved after anesthesia, mature egg count, egg retrieval rate, mature egg rate, normal fertilization rate, embryo cleavage rate, high-grade embryo rate, implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, early miscarriage rate are not significantly different from those not receiving anesthesia.
Dear female friends, you can independently decide whether to opt for painless egg retrieval based on your circumstances.
