A technique for laparoscopic transplantation of frozen-banked ovarian tissue.
OBJECTIVE: To describe a laparoscopic technique for transplanting frozen-banked ovarian tissue. DESIGN: Case study. SETTING: Academic medical center. PATIENT(S): A patient whose ovarian tissue was previously frozen with the slow-freeze technique. INTERVENTION(S): Microsurgical reconstruction of ovarian cortex and its laparoscopic transplantation to the ovarian fossa. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Blood flow to the grafts by doppler, follicle development and ovulation by ultrasound, E(2) and progesterone production, and resumption of spontaneous menses. RESULT(S): The patient ovulated and menstruated 4 months after the transplant in response to ovarian stimulation with menopausal gonadotropins. CONCLUSION(S): Laparoscopic transplantation of frozen-banked ovarian tissue beneath the pelvic peritoneum can restore ovarian function.