IFCE Technique

IFCE is not just about scratching the endometrium. At Oak Clinic, we comprehensively judge the presence or absence of polyps and the morphology of the uterus together with hysteroscopic findings, so that we can combine the benefits of scratching with optimal endometrial biopsy for diagnostic purposes and subsequently ET (embryo transfer) for each patient.

Presence or Absence of Endometrial Polyps

Hysteroscopy in patients with repeated implantation failure reveals a high proportion of polyps.
At Oak Clinic, we consider:

  1. 1. Endometrial macropolyps whose presence can be estimated by pre-hysteroscopy such as ultrasound, hysterosalpingography, and sonohysterogram
  2. 2. Small endometrial micropolyps that can only be detected by careful hysteroscopic observation

The two types have their own treatment, as follows:

  • Macro polyp → Polyp resection
  • Micropolyps → Often multiple, too small to be resected. There are many complications of the above-mentioned chronic endometritis (about 60%, which will be described later), and antibiotic treatment is effective in such cases.
  • Polyp-free group → Endometrial biopsy

We reported that embryo transfer results after each treatment improved and were comparable in the macropolyp, micropolyp, and polyp-free groups (Kitaya K, et al., Human Reproduction, in press, 2012; doi: 10.1093 / humrep / des 323).
In other words, it is important to select a treatment policy according to the presence or absence of polyps and their type.