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At our Fertility Center, you have access to the latest medical treatment options. We view the entire person as a whole and as an individual. Accordingly, we take great care in choosing your treatment, and we exercise great sensitivity in assisting you through this exciting and challenging time.

Hormone therapy and follicle monitoring

Hormone therapy

Hormonal disorders have a negative impact on the female cycle, which also leads to reduced fertility. A hormonal imbalance can easily be corrected with medication. In the event of delayed or absent follicle maturation, hormonal stimulation – either with pills or hormone injections – is the treatment of choice. A corpus luteum defect in the second half of the cycle can also be treated with appropriate hormones.

Follicle monitoring

Follicle monitoring can be performed as part of an ultrasound examination. The number, size, and growth of the follicles is checked during the first half of the cycle. Ovulation is triggered at the optimal time with a hormone injection. This is then followed by sexual intercourse or intrauterine insemination.

Intrauterine insemination – IUI

If nature needs a little push at just the right time, insemination can be the correct choice. It is a simple and straightforward procedure. Open fallopian tubes are required, however.

An insemination treatment begins with triggering of ovulation. At the optimal time, the sperm is prepared with a special method that concentrates the quickly moving, morphologically normal sperm cells. An insemination catheter is used to painlessly insert these into the uterine cavity.

Surgical treatment options

Hysteroscopy (imaging of the uterine cavity)

Hysteroscopy (imaging of the uterus) enables an examination of all internal structures of the uterus. This permits malformations as well as disruptive fibroids or alterations of the endometrium to be identified and removed, if necessary.

Laparoscopy (imaging of the abdomen)

Laparoscopy (imaging of the abdomen) reveals an accurate picture of the inside of the abdomen. For example, adhesions, cysts, and endometrial implants as well as fibroids can be evaluated in this way and removed, if necessary. It is also possible to examine the fallopian tubes for blockages.

TESE (testicular sperm extraction)

In this procedure, the urologist extracts tissue directly from the testes in a small surgical operation performed under short-term anesthesia. The tissue is then examined under a microscope for sperm cells in our embryology laboratory and frozen, if necessary.

Assisted reproduction

In vitro fertilization (IVF), the most successful fertility treatment worldwide, involves bringing the egg and sperm together outside the body in a laboratory to enable fertilization. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a specialized form of IVF, involves injecting a single sperm directly into the egg to facilitate fertilization. In both cases, the resulting embryo is then transferred to the uterus.

Cryopreservation

With the help of cryopreservation, embryos not used during assisted reproduction, as well as sperm and egg cells, can be frozen.

Freezing of sperm and testes tissues

The freezing of sperm cells is permitted in Austria without restriction. This often takes place prior to treatments that impair fertility (e.g. chemotherapy / radiation therapy for cancer, hormone therapy, etc.). The cryopreservation takes place via vitrification (flash freezing). This is particularly gentle on the sperm cells. The frozen sperm samples are stored in a specially secured room inside cryo tanks filled with liquid nitrogen (-196°C) and may remain in storage until the end of the person’s life or until a request to end the storage.

The same method is used for cryopreservation of testes tissue following a TESE procedure.

Freezing of egg cells

In Austria, the freezing of egg cells is only permitted under certain conditions. These include diseases or medical treatments that can significantly impair female fertility (chemotherapy / radiation therapy for cancer, endometriosis, etc.).

The cryopreservation takes place via vitrification (flash freezing). This is particularly gentle on the egg cells. The frozen egg cells are stored in a specially secured room inside cryo tanks filled with liquid nitrogen (-196°C) and may remain in storage until the end of person’s life or a until request to end the storage.

The practice known as “social egg freezing” (cryopreservation of egg cells during younger years as a reserve for the future) is banned by law in Austria.

Freezing of embryos and blastocysts

An in vitro fertilization procedure often results in multiple embryos/blastocysts, which can also be frozen. The cryopreservation takes place via vitrification (flash freezing). This is particularly gentle on the embryos/blastocysts. They are stored in a specially secured room inside cryo tanks filled with liquid nitrogen (-196°C) and may remain in storage for a maximum of 10 years or until a request to end the storage.