Since a male factor may account for up to 50% of the underlying causes of infertility, investigation of the male with a semen analysis should precede invasive tests of the female.

Those who provide care for women must be familiar with the risks associated with reproductive aging and must be comfortable in discussing them frankly with their patients.

The causal relationship between endometriosis and infertility remains to be elucidated, especially in early stages of the disease, when there is no disruption of the pelvic anatomy.

Intrauterine adhesions, uterine septa, endometrial polyps and uterine myomas appear to adversely affect fertility, but further study is necessary to demonstrate both causes and surgical benefits.

Surgery should retain its place in the treatment of tubal infertility and complements assisted reproductive technology, thereby improving outcomes for women with tubal infertility.

A cross-sectional evaluation of patients presenting to a chronic pelvic pain clinic found a significant subset with identifiable pelvic musculoskeletal pain.

Deliveries performed by private practitioners are associated with a higher rate of episiotomy use than are deliveries performed by resident staff.

Administering glutamine at physiologic levels reduces endothelial cell intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression induced by preeclamptic plasma.

A 35-year-old, healthy woman developed symptomatic hyponatremia with altered mental status 10 hours after routine diagnostic laparoscopy and hysteroscopy.

A 36-year-old woman presented with acute urinary retention secondary to a large peritoneal inclusion cyst, and laparoscopic management provided immediate relief of symptoms.

Three cases of uterine rupture occurred in nonlaboring women at preterm gestational ages.

As far as genetic counseling is concerned, nonmosaic trisomy 20 is much less challenging than its mosaic form since the prognosis is uniformly poor in the former.

Recryopreservation by vitrification of blastocysts developed from frozen embryos on day 6 could contribute to preventing wastage of supernumerary embryos in human assisted reproductive technology.

 

 

 

 

Once thought to be a rare condition, painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis is being increasingly recognized as an important cause of chronic pelvic pain.

The primary defect may be increased permeability of the GAG layer of the bladder urothelium, which allows toxic elements to invade the bladder and cause pain and irritative voiding.

If PBS/IC is diagnosed early in the disease process, it can be treated successfully in most patients.

Most patients who suffer from painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis can now be simply and effectively treated.