Breakthrough by SFS Doctors

Some notable breakthroughs include:

  • 1982: First to recommend the exclusive use of gonadotropins to stimulate follicular development for IVF.
  • 1983: First to introduce Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) of washed sperm for treating certain forms of infertility.
  • 1989: First to report on ultrasound appearance and thickness of the uterine lining (endometrium) as a predictor of IVF success.
  • 1993: First to introduce the technique of “Prolonged Coasting” for cases of Severe Ovarian Hyperstimulation. This treatment protocol has virtually eliminated the life-endangering effects of this condition as well as eliminating the need to cancel the patient’s IVF cycle.
  • 1994: First to identify and treat immune factors affecting implantation potential of embryos in certain women.
  • 1997: First to introduce Viagra to enhance the thickness of the uterine lining in IVF patients.
  • 1998: First to recommend the selective use of intravenous gammaglobulin for the treatment of certain forms of Immunologic Implantation Dysfunction (IID) in IVF.
  • 2000: First to introduce a new protocol of ovarian stimulation, the agonist/antagonist conversion protocol (A/ACP) to improve egg/embryo quality in response to gonadotropin stimulation. This also led to the addition of advanced “priming” with estradiol valerate (A/ACP-E2V) to further augment the response of women with reduced ovarian reserve (“poor responders”).
  • 2003: First to measure soluble Human Leukocyte Antigen-G (sHLA-G) in the media surrounding early individual embryos and use this genetic marker to identify the “best individual embryos” (the ones that are most likely to implant and produce a viable pregnancy) for transfer to the uterus.
  • 2005: First to show, by using Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing (PGT) with Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH), that an embryo resulting from fertilization of a chromosomally normal (euploid egg), has a much improved ability to implant successfully and produce a normal baby. This method which tests egg/embryo “competence” is likely to vastly improve IVF results and lead to single embryo transfers, thereby minimizing the risk of multiple pregnancies.
  • 2007: First to show, by using PGT with CGH that an embryo resulting from fertilization of a euploid egg (i.e. an egg that has all of its chromosomes present), has a much improved ability to implant successfully and produce a normal baby. To date more than 400 babies have been born using this technique.
  • 2008: First to apply PGT with metaphase CGH to the selection of chromosomally intact eggs for cryobanking, leading to a four to six-fold improvement in the birth rate per frozen egg over that which had been previously reported. To date, many babies have been born from his use of CGH tested eggs.
  • 2014: Supplanted CGH embryo testing with a new PGT method known as Next Generation Gene Sequencing (NGS) for testing the competency of embryos and eggs.