I hate when this happens. Fortunately it is fairly unusual, but devastating. We start a retrieval with everything going well but the embryologist does not find any eggs. It's called Empty Follicle Syndrome. The follicles are not really empty but the hCG administered to start the process of releasing the egg has not worked. What do we do? In the cycle in which it happens one strategy is to stop the retrieval, readminister the hCG and repeat the retrieval 35 hours later. According to a study from Harvard published in the December 2009 issue of Fertility and Sterility, this does not result in a viable pregnancy.
The authors conclude, "This represents the largest case series to date regarding repeat administration of hCG in so-called “false” empty follicle syndrome cycles and indicates that patients should be counseled regarding the low likelihood of cycle success after repeat administration of hCG in this setting." At Reproductive Partners we have employed strategies to overcome this problem in future cycles, once we are aware of the problem.
