Defragmentation of in-vitro fertilization blastocyst stage embryos leading to rescued blastocyst expansion and clinical pregnancy

Abstract

Embryo fragmentation, or extrusion of cell fragments, is a naturally occurring phenomenon that may be associated with impaired embryo development, failed implantation and decreased pregnancy rates. Previous studies have shown improvement in clinical outcomes after microsurgery to aspirate these cell fragments from embryos early during the embryo cleavage process. This case series of three patients with infertility showcases the successful application of the defragmentation technique in blastocyst stage embryos after in-vitro fertilization. The timing of defragmentation allows for better identification of those growth-arrested embryos that would benefit from “rescue” defragmentation. All three embryos demonstrated continued expansion and development after defragmentation, and resulted in clinical pregnancies.