The effect of intramural and subserous uterine fibroids on implantation and clinical pregnancy rates in patients having intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Our objective was to assess the effects of intramural and subserous fibroids on intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in a retrospective case-control study of 108 women with uterine fibroids and 324 controls. The fibroids were located and measured by transvaginal ultrasound performed just before the ICSI cycle and all patients had normal endometrial scan. Seventy-three women had intramural and 35 women had subserous fibroids and the maximum diameter in any patient ranged from 0.5-10 cm. The number of fibroids in a patient ranged from 1-8. The first cycle outcome was compared with an age and body mass index matched 324 ICSI patients/cycles. All couples had male factor infertility. The ICSI cycles of patients with intramural and subserous fibroids were comparable in terms of the days of ovarian stimulation, the total dose of gonadotropin used, estradiol level on day of hCG administration, the number of metaphase II oocytes retrieved, fertilization and cleavage rates, number and quality of embryos developed and transferred. The implantation and clinical pregnancy rates were similar. We conclude that the presence of intramural and subserous fibroids does not adversely effect clinical pregnancy and implantation rates in patients undergoing ICSI.