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Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection: History, Indications, Technique, and Safety

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Abstract

The pioneering of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has been heralded as one of the major breakthroughs in the field of reproductive medicine. Ever since the first live births with ICSI were reported in 1992, ICSI has been adopted as a powerful tool to treat almost all forms of male infertility as well as a method to overcome fertilization failure. ICSI, as a component of in vitro fertilization (IVF), has assisted several million couples globally to conceive, resulting in the birth of over five million babies to date. Here we review the history of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) prior to the inception of ICSI, with special emphasis on the shortcomings of earlier techniques developed to treat male factor infertility. The advantages of ICSI are outlined and its various indications are enumerated, including its use in non-male factor infertility settings. Finally, we discuss the safety of ICSI by evaluating recent studies that have assessed the medical and reproductive health of offspring conceived using this technique.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Nigel Pereira & Gianpiero D. Palermo

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  1. Nigel Pereira
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  2. Gianpiero D. Palermo
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Correspondence to Gianpiero D. Palermo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Reproductive Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA

    Gianpiero D. Palermo

  2. Center for Advanced Genetics, San Clemente, California, USA

    E. Scott Sills

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Pereira, N., Palermo, G.D. (2018). Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection: History, Indications, Technique, and Safety. In: Palermo, G., Sills, E. (eds) Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70497-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70497-5_2

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