All Blog Posts (139)

Last week we had a SART/CDC site inspection. All IVF clinics in the country report to the CDC as part of the Wyden Law passed back in the 1990s. Although a few clinics choose not to report we have always been members of SART and reported to the CDC. During the inspection over 50 charts are chosen at random and carefully inspected to make sure that we are honest and accurate in reporting our results. We passed with flying colors! Kudos to all of our staff that work so hard on this part of…

I am a 23 year old female. I have just had an operation to try and diagnos if I had endemtriosous. They dicovered that I didn't have it however they discovered I was born only with one follapion tube. I understand it is rare however I was not told much on the matter. I am concerned as my ovulation cycle's are very painfull and heavy and now only having one tube what does it all mean?! My main concern is what is the likely hood that I can…

hello I want to know what are the chances of getting pregnant if I have only the right ovary and left tube ... we needed to undergo an IVF or is…

Hello everyone. Dr D here with a note. I wanted you to know that we updated a recent post - because the topic is just too incredible to let pass. You can see the post here-  Successful 48-year-old patient delivers her own biological baby!

This success is incredible, and is breaking ground for women who thought they were too old to…

hi i m 28 yrs old $ diagnosed severe endometriosis 2 mth back  laparoscopy $ hysteroscopy was done.taken 2 doses of leuprolide .bilateral tubes are patent.

plz tell me vat shud i do next 4 conception

Well, this doesn’t happen too often but here we go! 

C.B. is a lovely 30 year old lady, married for 7 years who had been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant for 5 years.  She came to see me in January, 2011 for Natural Cycle IVF(NCIVF) as her husband had a severe male factor that prevented her from becoming pregnant. 

Her husbands’ sperm count ranged from 0.2 – 2.7 million sperm/ml.  Normal sperm counts range from 20 million to 200 million/ml and he…

Hi everyone!  DrD here with 2 fascinating stories about patients of mine that recently became pregnant only because of their determination and persistence.   The first patient had secondary infertility lasting for 5 years and she beat the odds all by herself.  The second patient beat the odds with our help.

Patient 1: 

1. A.T. is a wonderful 44 ½ year old who had a successful pregnancy and delivery in 2006.  Then she experienced 4 consecutive spontaneous…

Question of the Day:



Hello Dr,

I had egg retrieval in sept 2011 5 blastocyst and 6 third day embryo.I ended having OHSS and transfer was cancelled. I had my FET done with one five day embryo in october 2011 which did not work.

I had one more FET done with two embryos from third day. Today is 12th day and I got -ve on HPT.I also gave my blood this morning will have results tomorrow.I am afraid that result may be…

Question of the Day:



My doctor said she will remove my left blocked tube to help IVF without mentioning whether I have a hydrosalpinx. Is it possible that my tube doesn't have this condition? Do they have to remove a blocked tube no matter whether it has a hydrosalpinx? I am frustrated because they don't tell you enough and I cannot ask suitable questions as obviously I don't know enough as a patient. …

This has been a busy month here for patients with prior tubal ligations. Although some patients with a prior tubal ligation will opt for a surgery to reverse their tubal ligation, most will pursue IVF. The data seems to favor IVF over tubal reversal if the patient is over age 37. Of course, other factors also…

Dr. G,

After being diagnosed with premature ovarian failure, it took me 2 years to embrace donor egg as my only option to expand my family. This journey has been a frustrating one.  I have only been able to have one fresh ET because my lining was suboptimal. On my first fresh ET, my pregnancy test was postiive.  I was elated !! ...but my beta levels plateau ~200 - 300.  I was given an option for methotrexate to dissolve the pregnancy.  I dont think my RE knew for sure where my…

I just want to thank the entire Dominion Fertility staff at Arlington for our baby girl who is at 30 weeks.  Our 5th embryo transfer last July resulted in our first solid pregnancy that has gone this far and I am 41 yrs old.  We moved away from Virginia so we haven't been able to share all the successes along the way with this pregnancy, but so far everything has checked good.  Our baby has already been a blessing to so many who have prayed for us for years, so we thank you for your role in…

Ascites is a medical condition in which excess fluid accumulates in the abdomen. Usually we see this in young patients with OHSS. Oncologists see it in patients with cancer. This past year I saw a patient that had recurrent ascites resulting from severe endometriosis. How rare is this condition? Well there have only been 63 reported cases worldwide since 1954 ! That's pretty darn rare.



The patient had first noticed the problem in 2009 and had undergone several procedures to drain…

Just received a wonderful email from a lovely couple who traveled all the way from Georgia to do NC IVF here at Dominion. Having had a previous IVF/ICSI baby in 2006 they had returned to their RE for another attempt at IVF. Previously the response to medications had been poor and this time the response was even worse with no retrieval even attempted. Her FSH was 18.9 and they were told that essentially no good options existed in terms of IVF. Fortunately, they had heard about NC IVF and we…

Frequently I am asked about IUI compared to IVF and specifically about NC IVF compared with IUI. Although IUI can be successful, there are clear limitations to an IUI. First of all, unless pregnancy occurs an IUI does little to explain why a couple has failed to conceive. Could the tube have failed to catch an egg(s)? Could the sperm have failed to find an egg(s)? Could the sperm have failed to fertilize an egg(s)? Could the fertilized egg(s) have failed to grow? Could the embryo(s) have…

New Years Eve is such a special day.  For many people, it is a time to reflect upon and evaluate one’s life, as well as look forward to the New Year.  It is also a time to think about what went well with the past year and make resolutions to make the next year even better.  This is true for us at Dominion Fertility, so we would like to share some of our resolutions for 2012.

Dr. DiMattina ,Dr. Gordon & Dr. Reh’s Resolutions for…

Working at Dominion Fertility often feels like working with an extended family.  When Dr. DiMattina started Dominion Fertility in 1987, he always wanted it to be a place that offered cutting edge technology in a personal setting.  Some 25 years later, that is exactly what Dominion Fertility is.  We have staff that have worked here for over 20 years and employees that often leave to start a family and come back when their kids are entering school.  It is a place that…

Most patients who have PCOS do not have regular menstrual cycles and therefore they cannot be treated with Natural Cycle IVF (NCIVF) as it requires patients to have fairly regular menstrual cycles.  This is an example of an interesting patient of mine who had irregular menstrual cycles, which upon taking Metformin became regular, thus allowing her to be successfully treated with NCIVF.

 A.H. is a 34 year old female who came to see me for a consultation in June, 2010. …

So says Dr. Isaac Kudoch in the November, 2011 journal Fertility and Sterility.  Hello everyone.  Dr. D here to discuss this article and of course, add some personal experience performing Natural Cycle IVF (NCIVF) in young patients with poor ovarian reserve.

Let me illustrate how NCIVF helped C.M., a 32 year old lady with a 3 year history of primary infertility and poor ovarian reserve.  She came to see me for consultation in December, 2010.  In 2009, she underwent a…

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…..you know the song, but the reality can be very different.  The holidays can be a very difficult time if you were hoping to have a baby or at least be pregnant this holiday season and it hasn’t happened for you.  Marketing geared towards families and children abound and can be hard to escape.  If you find yourself in this situation this holiday, here are some helpful hints to survive the holidays with infertility.

Take care of…