- Male InfertilityIntracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a powerful assisted reproductive technology (ART) used at the Southern California Reproductive Center (SCRC) in many cases of male infertility. ICSI represented the second major advance in modern fertility treatment – the first being IVF – because it enabled fertility specialists to directly address the problem of male factor infertility. The ICSI procedure directly introduces an individual sperm cell into each of the eggs obtained during the IVF (in vitro fertilization) process. The resulting embryo is then transferred to the uterus to initiate pregnancy. ICSI has proven to be a truly revolutionary technology, giving new hope to many couples who had been unable to conceive.
- Infectious DiseasesIn Los Angeles County and throughout the State of California, blood tests are required to rule out the presence of certain infectious diseases that may be transmitted through artificial insemination.
- GynecologySangita Jindal earned her PhD in Physiology from the University of Toronto, Canada and became a high-complexity lab director in 1997. Dr. Jindal has served on the faculty at New Jersey Medical School-Rutgers, and for the last 20 years has been on the faculty at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York as an Associate Professor and Laboratory Director in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Women’s Health. She has mentored grant-supported translational research projects for a number of trainees at academic programs, and is also an off-site lab director of private and academic IVF labs across the country. Dr. Jindal was President of the Society for Reproductive Biologists and Technologists (SRBT) in 2011, and currently serves on the Executive Council of SRBT and on the Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, among a number of other leadership roles. She is a member of the Editorial Boards of
- Female Infertility
- ObstetricsDr. Surrey is a board-certified reproductive and endoscopic surgeon and serves as clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is also associate director for advanced technologies at SCRC, providing IVF services to UCLA and Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He has been in practice for more than 25 years.
- EndometriosisAfter 1.5 years of trying to get pregnant and failing at it, (who thought it would be so hard?) I contacted Dr. Alexander. I was diagnosed with unexplained infertility, possibly silent endometriosis.
- Pregnancy
- Mental Health
- EndocrinologyDesta Gelagay is the technical director of our Andrology and Endocrinology Laboratories. Desta has over 20 years of experience in clinical Andrology testing and IVF.
- UltrasoundBecause sexual intercourse only allows for a small percentage of the sperm to travel successfully through a woman’s genital and reproductive tract, artificial insemination by IUI was developed to dramatically increase the number of sperm reaching the fallopian tubes in order to increase the chances for fertilization. The IUI process bypasses the cervix, allowing the sperm to target the ovaries without being slowed or stopped by the lower portions of the reproductive tract. For this reason, ICI (intracervical insemination) is rarely used. When IUI is used in conjunction with ultrasound to track follicular development, the procedure can be timed to maximize the chances for getting pregnant.
- X-Rays
- ChemotherapyBorn and raised in Los Angeles, Dr. Alexander is an expert at egg freezing and treatment of infertility, has conducted extensive research on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), and has extensive experience in recurrent pregnancy loss. Her other clinical interests include the treatment of endometriosis, unexplained infertility, and recurrent pregnancy loss. She also works closely with oncologists on the fertility preservation of patients who are about to undergo chemotherapy.
- Radiation TherapyRadiation therapy, chemo and surgery can all cause infertility by destroying a woman’s eggs. Depending on the type of cancer being treated, egg freezing may be an option that gives a woman facing cancer the opportunity to preserve her fertility before she undergoes therapy.
- VasectomySperm retrieval is a minimally invasive procedure that has proven effective at obtaining viable sperm for use in IVF (in vitro fertilization). The fertility specialists at SCRC have extensive experience in extracting sperm. In fact, sperm retrieval after vasectomy and even after chemotherapy is now being performed on a routine basis.
- Laparoscopy
- Reconstructive SurgeryA prolific researcher, Dr. Surrey has authored numerous publications for leading peer-reviewed journals including Fertility and Sterility and the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. An active leader in this field, he is a former president of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL), the largest association of minimally invasive gynecologists in the United States, and the leading organization of its kind worldwide. He is also a former president of the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society, the premier society of IVF specialists in the Western United States. Dr. Surrey continues to pursue the most advanced training in IVF, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), pelvic reconstructive surgery, microsurgery, and laparoscopic surgery, as one of the principal investigators of laparoscopic reconstructive surgery.
- Laparoscopic Surgery
- Cyst
- LesionsHSG can reveal uterine or fallopian tube abnormalities that impair fertility. Because tubal disease, such as adhesions or scar tissue, is responsible for approximately 20% of infertility cases, HSG should be completed early in the workup of infertility. In addition, some studies have demonstrated increased pregnancy rates in patients who undergo a normal HSG. This may be simply because when the contrast medium is injected into the area by catheter, the flow of the dye sometimes dislodges whatever is blocking the fallopian tubes, e.g. endometriosis lesions.