TET and ZIFT can be used as an effective treatment for infertility of all causes except for women with infertility caused by tubal blockage or significant tubal damage, or an anatomic problem with the uterus, such as severe intrauterine adhesions.

It is generally used in couples who have failed to conceive after at least one year of trying who also have one or more of the following:

Failed 3-6 cycles of ovarian stimulation with intrauterine insemination

TET is a technique that combines IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) with a tubal transfer. TET stands for “Tubal Embryo Transfer“. Embryos are placed via catheter directly into the women’s fallopian tubes. This usually involves a minor surgical procedure that allows you to go home the same day with a minor degree of pain. TET allows embryos to make their way to the uterus for implantation according to a normal timetable. In contrast, IVF places embryos directly into the uterus. The success rate with TET is higher than standard IVF, but can only be performed if the woman has normal fallopian tubes. TET allows couples with serious male factor infertility (e.g., low sperm count, motility or poor quality) the advantage of a tubal transfer when it is combined with the ICSI fertilization procedure. Its advantage over ZIFT is that it allows for the assessment of fertilization and embryo quality.

To prepare her body for the TET procedure the woman receives hormone injections to stimulate development of the ovarian follicles, the sac-like structures that contain the eggs. Administering hormones increases the chances of retrieving many ripened eggs, each one capable of being fertilized and producing a pregnancy. HMG (human menopausal gonadotropin) and recombinant FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) are the hormones used to stimulate the production of follicles.Up to three or more embryos are returned to the patient depending on her age and the quality of her embryos. If you have extra embryos we can freeze them for future attempts at pregnancy via a FET procedure.

Cost

TET and ZIFT cost more than IVF because of the surgical procedure involved in the transfer. They also cost more than GIFT because of the additional expenses involved with embryo culture and because the transfer procedure is done on another day – as compared to GIFT where the aspiration and transfer procedures are done on the same day