Details on our Success Rates for Infertility Patients
Published Results
Ongoing and Unpublished Results for Infertility Patients
Results of Therapy Improving IVF Success Rates
67% IVF pregnancy rate after therapy (statistical significance P<.001)
We have scientific data that we improve IVF success rates significantly. A controlled study published in the international peer-reviewed medical journal, Medscape General Medicine, Ob-Gyn and Women’s Health (6/2004) reports that patients who underwent the Wurn technique® before IVF transfer had a pregnancy rate of 67% vs. the 41% control group, the US national average according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
For consistency, all study participants had fresh, non-donor embryo transfers within 15 months after our therapy. Fresh, non-donor embryos are the most common IVF transfer, according to the CDC and the ASRM.
An interesting side-note in the Pre-IVF study was a 57% clinical pregnancy rate among women 41 years of age, or older.
Results of Therapy alone
71% natural pregnancy in women diagnosed infertile
71% corresponds with the pregnancy rate in a scientific study published in a medical journal in June, 2004. This number represents 10 of 14 women who completed 20 hours of therapy, or became pregnant earlier, without any further medical intervention. This study was published in the international peer-reviewed medical journal, Medscape General Medicine, Ob-Gyn and Women’s Health. Successful full-term births in this group included one woman who had totally blocked fallopian tubes, and several who had multiple, unsuccessful intra-uterine inseminations (IUIs).
An interesting side-note in the Natural Study was a 60% clinical pregnancy and live birth rate (no miscarriages) among women 35 years of age, or older.
Tracking ongoing success rates for improving natural fertility is difficult to tabulate for several reasons:
- We have to follow our patients for 12 to 24 months in order to properly track pregnancy and birth rates. These time frames correspond to the definition of infertility in the US (12 months, per the US Centers for Disease Control: CDC) and the rest of the world (24 months, per the World Health Organization: WHO).
- Due to the many life changes that occur when a couple finds out they are expecting a child, even the best-intentioned couples fail to tell us when they become pregnant or deliver a baby. Often a year has passed since they completed therapy, and a couple will have moved on with their very busy lives.
- We are not the primary physician for our patients, so we do not have ongoing local contact with our patients.
- The US population is mobile, changing addresses, phone numbers and contact information relatively often.
For all of these reasons, accurately tracking our ability to enhance natural fertility becomes a difficult, nearly impossible task.
As explained above, it is virtually impossible to track our ability to improve natural fertility in all of our past patients. However, we can easily and accurately track three areas of treatment:
- Opening blocked tubes
- Pregnancies in pre-IVF cases
- Decreasing FSH levels.
All of these easily measurable categories have measured in the 60% to 70% success range (or higher) after therapy.
Opening blocked fallopian tubes
61%
This figure is the result of an exhaustive three-year study, to be submitted for publication this year. We believe our 61% success rate opening blocked fallopian tubes is a very telling figure about the effectiveness of therapy. The above statistic reflects a compilation of successive cases who came to our clinic with totally blocked fallopian tubes. These women had either two blocked fallopian tubes, or one blocked tube and the other removed.
This group of women is arguably the most difficult population to treat. Total tubal occlusion (blocked tubes) indicates significant fertility problems in the reproductive tract, on both sides of the uterus. To us, it generally indicates additional dysfunction at the uterus and/or cervix, and probable adhesions at neighboring structures. The fact that we could open at least one (and often two) fallopian tubes, deep within the pelvis of so many of our patients, is a strong indication that we can help most women with any sort of mechanical infertility problem. A large percentage of women with “unexplained infertility” fall into this category.
Due to the large number of women we have seen to create the above statistic, we feel very confident of our ability to open at least one fallopian tube in most women with blocked fallopian tubes. The success rate was very similar for women with distal occlusion (at the end of the tube near the ovary), proximal occlusion (by the uterus) or mid-tubal occlusion (mid-tube).
It is important to note that our work differs from surgery to open tubes . After surgical opening, many fallopian tubes close again within two to six months, due to adhesions that form following surgery. This concern was documented in a study published in Human Reproduction. The study showed that six months after a minimally invasive surgical procedure, tubes were blocked again in 81% of patients. This apparently does not happen after our work, theoretically because it is less invasive than surgery.
Live birth rates after opening blocked fallopian tubes
53%
Natural pregnancies were reported in 53% of the study women whose tubes opened. The follow-up period was a full 24 months after therapy. The average time to conception after therapy was eleven months. Two women also reported a second pregnancy within this two-year period, indicating that the benefits of therapy may have long-lasting results.
Opening Tubes with Hydrosalpinx
In September 2006, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) invited us to present our work at its annual meeting. Fertility and Sterility published our study abstract that examined our results opening tubes blocked with hydrosalpinx.
Eight patients with total tubal occlusion and hydrosalpinx underwent a series of manual pelvic physical therapy sessions designed to address restricted soft tissue mobility due to micro-adhesions and adhesions.
After therapy, 4/8 (50%) demonstrated post-treatment patency in one or both tubes containing the hydrosalpinx, and 2/4 (50%) of the women demonstrating patency reported natural post-therapy full-term pregnancies via the tube with hydrosalpinx. One had a successful post-treatment IVF pregnancy and delivery, followed by a natural pregnancy/delivery; a second patient had a natural pregnancy/delivery followed by a subsequent natural pregnancy/delivery.
Results of Therapy with IVF--Challenging Subsets:
Study Subset 1: Women with no pregnancy in one or more earlier IVF attempts
The CDC and ASRM measure success by embryo transfer attempts. In this subset, many of the patients were particularly challenging, with several failed assisted reproductive techniques (ART) prior to therapy. A look at their prior attempts gives us a good indication of the level of difficulty:
- Prior to therapy: Study patients went through 78 assisted reproductive techniques, including 54 IUI and 24 IVF procedures. All of these attempts yielded only three pregnancies, two by IVF, and one live birth. This equals an IVF pregnancy rate of 8% [2/24] and an IVF live birth rate of 4% [1/24].
- Following therapy: After therapy, these same women underwent 33 transfers. Of these, 22 reported clinical pregnancies (67%.)
Study participants came to us to help prepare the uterus for IVF transfer, then underwent IVF within 15 months after therapy. It is important to note that we excluded no one, regardless of age or complicating factors, in conducting this research. Had we excluded women with hormonal issues or couples with male-factor infertility, our rates may have been even higher. Due to our acceptance of all patients and our exciting results, we feel very confident of our ability to increase the pregnancy rates for women we treat before IVF attempt.
Study Subset 2: Women with no pregnancy in two or more prior IVF attempts
As mentioned above, many of the study participants had undergone prior unsuccessful IVF attempts . To test our ability to assist this "most challenging" group, we investigated a sub-group of these patients. We included only those patients who met both of these criteria:
1. had attempted at least two IVF transfers prior to treatment without a pregnancy, and
2. had never achieved a clinical pregnancy in any IVF transfer they had ever undergone.
Seven women met the criteria for this study. Four had failed to conceive in two consecutive IVF transfers, and three had failed three consecutive times. None had ever achieved pregnancy via IVF. After we treated them, they attempted another IVF cycle.
Five of the seven (71.4%) had clinical pregnancies and four of seven (57.1%) gave birth after their first IVF transfer following therapy. Due to the small sample size of this study (a small subset of the published study), this is considered a pilot study. However, the overwhelmingly positive results from this group of "most challenging" patients is very encouraging for all of our pre-IVF patients.
Therapy to improve (reduce) FSH levels
Over 75% improvement in pilot cases
While we do not yet have hard science for this study, the pilot cases have shown very promising results from data reported by patients. Significant decreases in FSH levels (or pregnancies) were reported in well over 75% of these pilot cases.
We have been greatly encouraged by the high number of successes we have seen decreasing FSH levels, in women who came to us reporting high FSH. We are further encouraged that most of these cases showed a very significant drop in FSH levels. We will update this number as we develop more data.
We have designed a full-scale study on reversing aberrant hormone levels, and look forward to conducting and writing that report. Once that has been completed and published, we will be able to make a more scientifically appropriate statement about our success rates in decreasing high FSH levels.
We encourage you not to get lost in the numbers. We have seen successes with very complex patients and failures with those we thought would be easy. The human body is remarkable in its ability to self-heal, when nurtured and attended by knowledgeable, caring hands. In addition, we assume that as we learn more, we are getting better at this work all the time.
Perhaps this is the best way to think about it: our success rates parallel or enhance many medical techniques, without the risks of additional drugs or surgery. Our patients also avoid additional adhesions, which are a natural by-product of surgery.
While there are no guarantees in any medical procedure, it is rare that we do not see a measurable result in our patients. Most of our patients speak of positive side-effects such as
- increased pelvic mobility
- decreased back or menstrual pain
- increased sex drive
- decreased irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms
- decreased frequency of urination
- decreased constipation
- normal bowel and bladder function for the first time in years, or decades
- improved hormonal function
We often hear stories of improved sexual function (increased lubrication, quality, intensity, frequency and duration of orgasm) and decreased intercourse pain.
In short, this therapy appears to resolve a significant number of longstanding issues. For most of our patients, this therapy just makes good sense. They reason that if we are able to decrease the internal adhesions that have formed over a lifetime of healing from infections, inflammations, surgeries and trauma, the muscles and organs in that area will function better, and with less pain.
In the end, if therapy is not successful in helping you achieve a natural pregnancy, we feel confident that our therapy will significantly increase your chances with IVF or other ART pregnancy, and has a good statistical record for decreasing pain. Please visit our Success Rates page in our pain section for more details.
