Single ovary (unilateral oophorectomy) patients had lower IVF success rates and birth rates than double ovary patients.

The data on whether the removal of one ovary affects a woman’s fertility is ambiguous.

It was previously thought that the surviving ovary could compensate for the loss in women receiving IVF therapy, and researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now conducted a meta-analysis to investigate this possibility.

“Our meta-study shows that a successful IVF outcome was less likely in women that have only one ovary, compared with women with both intact ovaries,” Kenny Rodriguez-Wallberg explains. 

“We have been able to show, for the first time, that the surgical removal of an ovary has an adverse effect on fertility.”

In a meta-analysis, researchers compare the findings of previously published studies to their own hypothesis.

A total of more than 3,000 papers on the subject were identified by the researchers in this study, but only 18 of them fit their criteria and were included in the final analysis.

In total, 1,057 women with one ovary underwent IVF, whereas 45,813 women with two ovaries underwent the procedure.

In the analyses of live births, five studies were included; in the analysis of pregnancy rates, fifteen were.

The chances of giving birth and becoming pregnant were both roughly 30% lower in the group of women with one ovary than in the group of women with both ovaries.

“We need to realise the consequences on fertility of removing one ovary,” adds Kenny Rodriguez-Wallberg. “Sometimes, the operation is necessary, in the event, say, of a malignant tumour, but it’s important to improve the information we give to women about what it can mean for their chances of having future children. Given that the biological reserve of eggs is already limited, we should, in some cases, also offer these women the opportunity to freeze their eggs ahead of an oophorectomy.”

One explanation for the earlier idea that fertility was impacted is because the majority of studies were too small to yield a significant outcome.

The researchers now want to see if surgically removing an ovary has any other health consequences, such as how low hormone production affects the development of other disorders.

Source: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2022.01.033

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