Handan Namli: Your IVF Report – What Next?
Handan Namli, Former Medical Doctor and IVF Center Director at International Turkish Hospital, shared on LinkedIn:
“Your IVF Report: What Next?
Four things I want the patient to leave the appointment understanding.
When a patient brings an embryology report to a review appointment, there is often one grade circled at the top of the page.
The number or letter may be the most memorable part of the report.
It is rarely the best place to begin the conversation.
Start with what the lab observed
In a fictional example, 11 eggs were collected, 8 were mature and 6 showed the usual sign of fertilisation. Three reached the blastocyst stage. One was transferred and two were frozen.
I read those numbers as a sequence. A count of eggs collected and a count of blastocysts describe different stages. Reading the stages together gives us a starting point for a review.
Explain what the result may mean in context
Was the maturity result in line with expectations for this person? Was the main change at fertilisation or during embryo development? The same count can prompt different conversations depending on the person’s history, the cycle and the clinic’s records.
If we discuss a grade such as 4AA, I explain the feature each part describes. I also explain where the grading information fits into the clinic’s decision about which embryo to use first.
Say what remains uncertain
A report records observations. It may tell us when development stopped without telling us why. It may describe the appearance of an embryo without explaining what happened after transfer.
Naming what we don’t know helps the patient understand the limits of the proposed plan. It also makes the next conversation easier to follow.
End with a question the patient can take home
Which finding in this report matters most for my next decision?
A helpful answer connects the observation to a recommendation. If the plan will stay the same, the patient should understand the reason. If it will change, the patient should understand which observation supports that change.
Watch the full embryology report walkthrough.”
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