The outcomes of assisted reproductive technology cycles in patients with one or two ovaries.

Aim: To provide a comparison between the follicular response to ovulation induction, and the pregnancy rate of women with a single or two ovaries, undergoing assisted reproductive technology.

Methods: To evaluate the outcome of assisted reproductive technology, 46 treatment cycles in women with one ovary were compared to 123 cycles in women with two ovaries.

Results: The mean age of the patients in the two groups were not similar (34.4 +/- 3.8 and 33.1 +/- 4.0, respectively). The one ovary-group had significantly higher mean baseline Follicle Stimulating Hormone levels and required more ampoules for induction. Although the induction period was longer in the one-ovary group, the outcome of the assisted reproductive technology in both groups was similar. The maximum E2 levels on the day of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin administration were significantly lower in the one-ovary group, although endometrial thickness appeared to be the same in both groups. The patients with two ovaries had a significantly higher mean number of mature or immature oocytes aspirated, as well as embryos transferred. Although there was no statistical difference between the two groups following assisted reproductive technology, the pregnancy rate in the two-ovary group was more than double that of the one-ovary group.

Conclusion: The potential for success after in vitro fertilization is not impaired in women with one ovary.