Laparoscopic ovarian drilling with diathermy in the treatment of infertile women with polycystic ovaries.

Background: [corrected] To describe the effect of laparoscopic ovarian drilling with diathermy on the pregnancy outcome of infertile women with polycystic ovaries.

Methods: Between September 2000 and July 2001, 6 infertile patients with polycystic ovaries who visited the Kinmen County Hospital consented to participate in the study. Oligomenorrhea was the common clinical symptoms of these 6 patients whose pelvic sonogram revealed typical pattern of polycystic ovaries. All patients had been unresponsive to treatment with clomiphene citrate. Laparoscopic ovarian drilling with diathermy was performed. The rates of spontaneous ovulation and pregnancy were calculated.

Results: Four of the 6 patients (66.6%) resumed regular menstruation and 5 of the 6 patients (83.3%) were able to become pregnant within 6 months. The mean time to the first conception was 81 days (range 12 to 172 days); 1 of the 5 pregnancies ended with miscarriage at 8 weeks of gestational age.

Conclusions: Laparoscopic ovarian drilling with diathermy can be an effective method for infertile women with ultrasonographic pattern of polycystic ovaries to achieve pregnancy.