Pregnancy following a difficult transfer: a case report

Traumatic embryo transfers impact negatively on pregnancy rates. This study reports a clinical pregnancy obtained by transferring a blastocyst developed from a 72-h embryo, which had been retained on the catheter in a difficult transfer. A total of five oocytes was obtained from the 32-year-old patient in her first IVF treatment. Only one zygote and cleavage embryo resulted. A traumatic and bloody transfer was performed on day 3. The unique embryo was retained on the catheter. The embryo was left in culture medium until the blastocyst stage was achieved. A second transfer was performed and a successful pregnancy was achieved after transferring this blastocyst. A healthy baby was born. The results of the present report suggest that in cases of difficult transfers, waiting for the blastocyst stage might allow a second, non-traumatic transfer to be performed without embryos and cervix under the effects of stress.