Editor: Botros R.M.B. Rizk, MD
Publisher: Cambridge University Press – 321 pages
Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram

This book is for students and practitioners in gynecology, infertility, radiology, ultrasonography, and urology. It was published nine years ago in 2010, and even by then, the image clarity and quality in ultrasonography had greatly improved compared to what was previously possible many years earlier

This is according to Ronald Franks who wrote the Foreword for this book. The multiple uses of this type of imaging was also a factor for choice by practitioners in infertility and reproductive medicine, he writes. He writes: “A select group of international experts provides a very practical, clinically relevant guide to the diagnostic use of ultrasonography in unraveling the complex conditions that prevent conception.”

There are many types of medical imaging used these days – computer tomography or CT, magnetic resonance imaging or MRI, ultrasound, and X-ray being among the four most-frequently used ones, but there more. Ultrasonography however, which uses sound waves rather than radiation, has been found to be the safest and one of the most cost-effective forms of medical imaging.

Dr. Botros Rizk, leading 70 other specialists in infertility and reproductive medicine from all around the United States and 10 other countries – Canada, Egypt, France, India, Lebanon, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom – authored the chapters of this book. We show the chapter titles below to provide you an overview of its coverage and contents:

  1. Section I – Imaging Techniques
    1. The future of imaging and assisted reproduction
    2. Ultrasonography: physics and principles
    3. Hysterosalpingography
    4. Fertiloscopy
    5. Sonohysterography
    6. Diagnostic hysterography
    7. Ethics of ultrasonography
  2. Section II – Ultrasonography in Fertility
    1. 3D Ultrasonography and infertility
    2. Ultrasonography and diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome
    3. Ultrasonography and the treatment of infertility in polycystic ovary syndrome
    4. Ultrasonography of uterine fibroids
    5. Ultrasonography of the endometrium
    6. Ultrasonography of the cervix
    7. Color Doppler imaging of ovulation induction
    8. Ultrasonography of pelvic endometriosis
    9. Adenomyosis
    10. Congenital uterine malformations
    11. Uterine septum
    12. Ultrasonography and incidental ovarian pathology
    13. Scrotal ultrasonography in male infertility
    14. Trans-rectal ultrasonography in male infertility
    15. Ultrasonographic evaluation of acute pelvic pain
    16. Ultrasonographic evaluation of chronic pelvic pain
  3. Section III – Ultrasonography in Assisted Reproduction
    1. Ultrasonography and IVF
    2. Ultrasonography and hydrosalpinges in IVF
    3. Ultrasonographic evaluation of ovarian reserve
    4. Ultrasonography in oocyte retrieval for IVF
    5. Ultrasonographic-guided embryo transfer: evidence-based practice
    6. Ultrasonographic-guided embryo transfer: clinical practice
  4. Section IV – Early Pregnancy After Infertility Treatment
    1. First semester pregnancy failure
    2. Ectopic pregnancy
    3. Heterotopic pregnancy and assisted reproduction
    4. Cervical pregnancy
    5. Congenital anomalies and assisted reproductive technologies
    6. Multiple pregnancy following IVF
    7. Ultrasonography in the prediction and management of ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome

Let’s take a look at the outline, organization and contents of a typical chapter to find out what topics are presented in text and visual forms. Chapter 24 – Ultrasonography and IVF, authored by Luciano G. Nardo and Tarek A. Gelbaya – in Section 3 – Ultrasonography in Assisted Reproduction, presents these chapter components:

  • Introduction
  • Trans-vaginal and trans-abdominal approaches
  • Initial investigations of the subfertile woman
  • Ultrasound of the uterus
  • Lelomyoma
  • Endometrial polyps
  • Endometrial fluid
  • Assessment of endometrial and uterine contour
  • Ultrasound of the fallopian tube
  • Hydrosalpinx
  • Ultrasound for tubal patency
  • Ultrasonography of the ovaries
  • Ultrasound and polycystic ovary
  • Functional ovarian cysts
  • Endometrioma
  • Dermoid cysts
  • Assessment of ovarian reserve
  • Monitoring ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation
  • Ultrasound assessment of the endometrium
  • Uterine artery blood flow
  • Oocyte retrieval
  • Ultrasound-guided embryo transfer
  • Complications of IVF
  • Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
  • Early pregnancy complications and multiple pregnancies
  • References

This is an excellent resource for practitioners, fellows, residents and medical students on the causes of infertility in men and women through the use and practice of ultrasonography.

Dr. Botros Rizk and his team of 70 specialists in infertility and reproductive medicine have done an outstanding job in presenting information in such good format in helping others to determine which of the many potential causes of such infertility is the right one preventing conception, with the use of ultrasound technology tools. We commend them highly in helping patients take the right course of action.

 

Editor:

Botros R.M.B. Rizk, MD, MA, FRCOG, FRCS ©, HCLD, FACOG, FACS is Professor and Head of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, and is also Director of that University’s In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Laboratory in Mobile, Alabama.

Dr. Rizk is one of the pioneers of IVF and ovarian stimulation. He helped in the development of ultra-sonographic-guided oocyte retrieval techniques. He is the author of more than 200 scientific papers, abstracts, and book chapters, and serves on the scientific boards of the leading societies in human reproduction and infertility.