Widely considered one of the top fertility experts in the field, Dr. Mark Surrey has been in practice for over 25 years. He is a board-certified reproductive and endoscopic surgeon and serves as clinical professor in the Department of OBGYN at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine. He was elected President of the American Laparoscopy Society & Pacific Coast Reproductive Society and is a Clinical Director of Fellowship Training for UCLA & Cedars Sinai Reproductive Endocrinology. Also a founding member of The Society of Reproductive Surgeons. Dr. Surrey is a yearly recipient of the leading research contributions for ASRM. Furthermore, he is the associate director at the Southern California Reproductive Center, a clinic he co-founded.
Haute MD sat down with Fertility Expert Dr. Mark Surrey, to learn more about fertility preservation, for couples or individuals who are trying or want to have kids. Fertility preservation is an extremely common treatment that Dr. Surrey is highly-sought after for.
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HB: What is fertility preservation?
This implies the preservation of future human fertility through a technology called vitrification. This allows for very accurate preservation of either gametes (eggs or sperm) or embryos, which will last for many years (over 10).
HB: What type of procedures or treatments do you offer to preserve fertility? How does each of these treatments work?
For women, this involves controlled ovarian stimulation with natural pituitary releasing factors called gonadotropins which are monitored by ultrasounds and hormone levels during 10-12 days needed. The eggs are then aspirated by ultrasound under sedation at the center here. They are then either preserved as either fertilized eggs or fertilized to produce embryos. Embryo preservation is proceeded by preimplantation genetic testing. Unfertilized eggs can be thawed and fertilized at any time in the future at which time this genetic testing can then be performed.
Men produce a specimen for analysis following infectious disease testing by masturbation.
HB: Who are the best candidates for each of these?
The best candidates for fertility preservation are young, healthy people but anyone interested should have an exam and evaluation first.
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HB: What is recovery like for each of these?
The recovery for the female is one to four days depending on the stimulation.
HB: What is the cost of the treatments?
The cost is three different costs: sperm preservation, egg preservation, and embryo preservation.
For more information, visit Dr. Mark Surrey's social media:
