What to Expect at the Egg Retrieval
Couples are asked to arrive one hour before their scheduled egg retrieval. This is important in order to perform all of the preliminary tasks before the time for the egg retrieval. It is very important for the egg retrieval to start very close to the scheduled time. If there is too much delay beyond this time, ovulation could occur and some eggs could be lost before are retrieved.
When the couple arrives, they are registered by the Pre-Op nurse and assigned to a room. The nurse will have the couple sign consent forms for the procedure before anesthesia of any kind is administered. The Pre-Op nurse will then take vital signs, such as temperature and blood pressure, of the female partner. Next, the Anesthesiologist will talk with the patient about her past experiences with anesthesia and tell her the sequence of events that will happen from the beginning to the end of her procedure. He/she will visit her after the retrieval also to make sure that she is doing well.
The nurse will take the patient back to the procedure room for the retrieval and the physician will visit with her briefly before the procedure begins. Sometimes this visit takes place in the patient’s room and sometimes it takes place in the procedure room. The embryologist from our Austin IVF laboratory will come into the procedure room before the retrieval begins in order to check the patient’s name on her wrist band. The name on the wrist band will be matched to the paper work in the lab to make certain that it is the patient who the lab is expecting. The Anesthesiologist will administer a light to moderate anesthesia at this time so the patient will remain very comfortable during the procedure. While the procedure is going on, one of the embryologists will come by the patient’s room to take the husband to the collection room if he will be collecting at OVA.
After the procedure, one of the embryologists from our Austin IVF lab will come by to speak to the couple and let them know how many eggs were retrieved and what the sperm looks like. It is generally known by this time if the sperm is good enough to use for insemination of the eggs or if intra-cytoplasmic injection will be necessary. Typically, a patient will be kept for observation for at least one hour after the egg retrieval. The Pre-Op nurse will take more vital signs and check on the patient from time to time to see how well she is recovering from the light anesthesia that she was administered.
Couples who are undergoing In Vitro Fertilization will have their egg retrieval and their embryo transfer performed at Austin Fertility Surgical Center. and is located in the same building with Ovation Fertility Austin (OVA)
