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Pregnancy in a couple with a male partner born with severe bladder exstrophy
W Verpoest1, P Platteau, A Van Steirteghem
1Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Brussels Free University (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), 101 Laarbeeklaan, 1090 Brussels, Belgium. Willem.Verpoest@az.vub.ac.be
Abstract:
Bladder exstrophy is a rare congenital condition, with variable degrees of reproductive dysfunction, from mild exstrophy allowing regular intercourse and reproduction, to severe forms with significant cosmetic deformity and failure to reproduce spontaneously. This is a case report of a patient with severe congenital bladder exstrophy and failure to reproduce spontaneously due to microphallism and anejaculation, treated with testicular sperm aspiration and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), resulting in the conception and birth of a healthy unaffected singleton male infant. This the first case report of bladder exstrophy of such a severe degree with a successful reproductive outcome. It illustrates that artificial reproductive techniques can be successful in achieving conception and ongoing pregnancy, including birth of a healthy infant, in patients where intercourse is impossible due to specific genital defects.
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