Transvaginal sonographically controlled follicle puncture for oocyte retrieval.

Transvaginal sonographically guided follicle aspiration under local anesthesia was performed on more than 100 patients and compared favorably with the other techniques that have been proposed to retrieve oocytes for in vitro fertilization. Sonography employs a sector scanner placed on the abdomen, and the needle is introduced through the posterior fornix of the vagina into the cul-de-sac and the ovary. In case of a high ovary, a transvaginal-transvesical variation may be used. The method is not painful and is easy to learn and perform. The sole adverse incidents have involved inadvertent venous puncture with no sequelae. The number and quality of recovered oocytes are good, and five normal children conceived after this method of retrieval were recently born. The technique permits substantial simplification of egg recovery for in vitro fertilization, which can now be performed in an outpatient setting without the risk and expense of laparoscopy and general anesthesia or the discomfort of transabdominal-transvesical ultrasound-guided aspiration.