[Fertility following celioscopic ovarian biopsy. Apropos of 477 cases of sterility].

The authors report a continuous series of 477 ovarian biopsies carried out laparoscopically between 1971 and 1980. They analyse the effects of this operative manoeuvre in curing sterility. 37% of the women became pregnant, the percentage being calculated by taking those patients who could not be traced as failure. This percentage reaches 57% of those patients who were followed up and who had no other obvious cause for their sterility. There were no anatomical or histological factors that could have brought about or explained this therapeutic success. The authors conclude that it is worth while to carry out ovarian biopsy when performing laparoscopy, but they also point out its difficulties and its risks.