| 1. |
- Akouri, Randa R., et al.
(author)
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First live birth after uterus transplantation in the Middle East
- 2020
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In: Middle East Fertility Society Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1110-5690 .- 2090-3251. ; 25:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background The first live birth after uterus transplantation took place in Sweden in 2014. It was the first ever cure for absolute uterine factor infertility. We report the surgery, assisted reproduction, and pregnancy behind the first live birth after uterus transplantation in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT) region. A 24-year old woman with congenital absence of the uterus underwent transplantation of the uterus donated by her 50-year-old multiparous mother. In vitro fertilization was performed to cryopreserve embryos. Both graft retrieval and transplantation were performed by laparotomy. Donor surgery included isolation of the uterus, together with major uterine arteries and veins on segments of the internal iliac vessels bilaterally, the round ligaments, and the sacrouterine ligaments, as well as with bladder peritoneum. Recipient surgery included preparation of the vaginal vault, end-to-side anastomosis to the external iliac arteries and veins on each side, and then fixation of the uterus. Results One in vitro fertilization cycle prior to transplantation resulted in 11 cryopreserved embryos. Surgical time of the donor was 608 min, and blood loss was 900 mL. Cold ischemia time was 85 min. Recipient surgical time was 363 min, and blood loss was 700 mL. Anastomosis time was 105 min. Hospital stay was 7 days for both patients. Ten months after the transplantation, one previously cryopreserved blastocyst was transferred which resulted in viable pregnancy, which proceeded normally (except for one episode of minor vaginal bleeding in the 1st trimester) until cesarean section at 35 + 1 weeks due to premature contractions and shortened cervix. A healthy girl (Apgar 9-10-10) weighing 2620 g was born in January 2020, and her development has been normal during the first 6 months. Conclusions This is the first report of a healthy live birth after uterus transplantation in the MENAT region. We hope that this will motivate further progress and additional clinical trials in this area in the Middle East Region, where the first uterus transplantation attempt ever, however unsuccessful, was performed already three decades ago.
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| 2. |
- Ayoubi, Jean Marc, et al.
(author)
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Case Report: Post-Partum SARS-CoV-2 Infection After the First French Uterus Transplantation
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Surgery. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2296-875X. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Absolute uterus factor infertility, whether congenital or acquired, renders the woman unable to carry a child. Although uterus transplantation (UTx) is being increasingly performed as a non-vital procedure to address this unfortunate condition, the immunosuppression required presents risks that are further compounded by pregnancy and during the puerperium period. These vulnerabilities require avoidance of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant UTx recipients especially during the third trimester, as accumulating evidence reveals increased risks of morbidity and mortality. Here we describe a successful UTx case with delivery of a healthy child, but in which both mother and neonate developed asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection seven days after RNA vaccination, on day 35 post-partum. Although the patient was successfully treated with a combination therapy comprised of two monoclonal antibodies, this case highlights the challenges associated with performing UTx in the era of Covid-19. More broadly, the risks of performing non-vital organ transplantation during a pandemic should be discussed among team members and prospective patients, weighing the risks against the benefits in improving the quality of life, which were considerable for our patient who achieved motherhood with the birth of a healthy child.
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| 3. |
- Ayoubi, J. M., et al.
(author)
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Evolving clinical challenges in uterus transplantation
- 2022
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In: Reproductive BioMedicine Online. - : Elsevier BV. - 1472-6483. ; 45:5, s. 947-960
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Before the first live birth following uterus transplantation (UTx) in 2014, the 1–2% of women with an absent or non-functional uterus had no hope of childbearing. With 64 cases of UTx and 34 births reported in the scientific literature, this emerging technology has the potential for translation into mainstream clinical practice. However, limitations currently include donor availability, recipient suitability, surgical challenges regarding success and complications, and recipient management after UTx and during pregnancy. This review considers these challenges and ways to overcome them so that UTx could become part of the reproductive specialist's armamentarium when counselling patients with uterine factor infertility.
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| 4. |
- Ayoubi, J. M., et al.
(author)
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Laparotomy or minimal invasive surgery in uterus transplantation: a comparison
- 2019
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In: Fertility and Sterility. - : Elsevier BV. - 0015-0282. ; 112:1, s. 11-18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Uterus transplantation (UTx) is the first available treatment for absolute uterine factor infertility, a condition due to absence of the uterus or presence of a non-functional uterus. The proof-of-concept of UTx as an infertility treatment for this group of patients occurred in 2014 in Sweden by the first birth after human UTx. That and subsequent cases of the Swedish trial were live-donor UTx procedures with laparotomy of both donor and recipient. Although results of the initial Swedish clinical UTx trial were very favorable in terms of take-home-baby rate, the drawback was the long duration (>10 h) of donor surgeries and associated long recovery periods. There exist three later publications, with uterus procurements from live donors by laparotomy with a range of surgical durations of 5.3 hours to 13 hours. Our collaborative Swedish-French team has initiated efforts to introduce minimal invasive surgery in one trial in Sweden and one in France. The principle of these UTx trials is to use modern concepts of robotic-assisted laparoscopy primarily in the live donor. There also exists a small number of published UTx procedures with donor surgery by partial conventional laparoscopy and one published case with total robotic-assisted laparoscopy procedure. This review discusses open versus minimal invasive surgery in relation to the accumulated knowledge in the field. Moreover, we propose some future directions for the development of this surgery in UTx. © 2019
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| 5. |
- Brucker, S. Y., et al.
(author)
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Experiences of a multistep process with medical and psychological interventions for patients with congenital uterine aplasia to achieve motherhood: the Gothenburg-Tubingen collaboration
- 2019
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In: Facts Views and Vision in Obgyn. - 2032-0418. ; 11:2, s. 121-126
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Congenital uterine aplasia, also known as Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS) is a condition associated to a non-functional uterus in the presence of functional ovaries. In a setting where surrogacy is illegal (or not accepted) and adoption is the only alternative, neovaginoplasty and subsequent uterus transplantation (UTx) can provide a route to motherhood for women with MRKHS. This review article describes a multistep process by which patients with MRKHS can achieve motherhood with their own biological child. This process involving a careful clinical diagnosis, psychological counselling, assessment of eligibility for neovagina creation and UTx, the surgical treatment, fertility treatment, and long-term follow-up was developed at the Tubingen University Hospital and in close collaboration with Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, where the basic experimental and clinical groundwork for UTx was laid and the first-ever UTx procedure was performed.
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| 6. |
- Brucker, S. Y., et al.
(author)
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Living-Donor Uterus Transplantation: Pre-, Intra-, and Postoperative Parameters Relevant to Surgical Success, Pregnancy, and Obstetrics with Live Births
- 2020
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In: Journal of Clinical Medicine. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-0383. ; 9:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Uterus transplantation (UTx) can provide a route to motherhood for women with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS), a congenital disorder characterized by uterovaginal aplasia, but with functional ovaries. Based on our four successful living-donor transplantations and two resulting births, this analysis presents parameters relevant to standardizing recipient/donor selection, UTx surgery, and postoperative treatment, and their implementation in routine settings. We descriptively analyzed prospectively collected observational data from our four uterus recipients, all with MRKHS, their living donors, and the two newborns born to two recipients, including 1-year postnatal follow-ups. Analysis included only living-donor/recipient pairs with completed donor/recipient surgery. Two recipients, both requiring ovarian restimulation under immunosuppression after missed pregnancy loss in one case and no pregnancy in the other, each delivered a healthy boy by cesarean section. We conclude that parameters crucial to successful transplantation, pregnancy, and childbirth include careful selection of donor/recipient pairs, donor organ quality, meticulous surgical technique, a multidisciplinary team approach, and comprehensive follow-up. Surgery duration and blood vessel selection await further optimization, as do the choice and duration of immunosuppression, which are crucial to timing the first embryo transfer. Data need to be collected in an international registry due to the low prevalence of MRKHS.
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| 7. |
- Brucker, S. Y., et al.
(author)
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Selecting living donors for uterus transplantation: lessons learned from two transplantations resulting in menstrual functionality and another attempt, aborted after organ retrieval
- 2018
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In: Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0932-0067 .- 1432-0711. ; 297:3, s. 675-684
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To contribute to establishing donor selection criteria based on our experience with two successful living-donor human uterus transplantations (UTx) and an aborted attempt. This interventional study included three patients with uterine agenesis, aged 23, 34, and 23 years, scheduled for UTx, and their uterus-donating mothers, aged 46, 61, and 46 years, respectively. Interventions included preoperative investigations, donor surgery, back-table preparation, and recipient surgery. Preoperative imaging, surgical data, histopathology, menstrual pattern, and uterine blood flow were the main outcome measures. In the first case (46-year-old mother/23-year-old daughter), donor/recipient surgery took 12.12/5.95 h. Regular spontaneous menstruations started 6-week post-transplantation, continuing at 24-28-day intervals throughout the 6-month observation period. Repeated follow-up cervical biopsies showed no signs of rejection. In the second case (61-year-old donor), surgery lasted 13.10 h; attempts to flush the retrieved uterus failed due to extreme resistance of the left uterine artery (UA) and inability to perfuse the right UA. Transplantation was aborted to avoid graft vessel thrombosis or insufficient blood flow during potential pregnancy. Histopathology revealed intimal fibrosis and initial sclerosis (right UA), extensive intimal fibrosis (parametric arterial segments), and subtotal arterial stenosis (myometrial vascular network). In the third case (46-year-old mother/23-year-old daughter), donor/recipient surgery took 9.05/4.52 h. Menstruations started 6-week post-transplantation. Repeated cervical biopsies showed no signs of rejection during the initial 12-week follow-up period. Meticulous preoperative evaluation of potential living uterus donors is essential. This may include selective contrast-enhanced UA angiograms and limitation of donor age, at least in donors with risk factors for atherosclerosis.
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| 8. |
- Brännström, Mats, 1958, et al.
(author)
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Evolution of surgical steps in robotics-assisted donor surgery for uterus transplantation: results of the eight cases in the Swedish trial.
- 2020
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In: Fertility and sterility. - : Elsevier BV. - 1556-5653 .- 0015-0282. ; 114:5, s. 1097-1107
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To perform a stepwise development of the surgical method for robotics-assisted laparoscopy in donor hysterectomy for uterus transplantation (UTx), a unique treatment for absolute uterine-factor infertility.Prospective observational study.University hospital.Eight donors, aged 38-62 years, underwent surgery for retrieval of the uterus and vasculature.Robotics-assisted laparoscopy was performed in donors for 6-7 h with video recording. Conversion to laparotomy was performed for last parts of retrieval surgery.Description, evaluation, and timing of 12 specific surgical steps, as well as surgical outcomes and complications.There was a progression during the course of eight surgeries. In the initial two cases, seven and six items were completed with robotics compared with all 12 items in the last three procedures. The passive surgical time decreased from ∼20% in the first four cases to ∼8% in the last three procedures. The estimated median (range) blood loss, total surgical time, and length of hospital stay were, respectively, 125 mL (100-600), 11.25 h (10-13), and 5.5 days (5-6). Two reversible complications occurred: One patient acquired pressure alopecia, and one developed pyelonephritis.The study demonstrates a clear evolution of a strategy toward fully robotic donor surgery in UTx. This is likely to become the main approach in donor surgery of live UTx donors.NCT02987023.
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| 9. |
- Brännström, Mats, 1958, et al.
(author)
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Global results of human uterus transplantation and strategies for pre-transplantation screening of donors
- 2019
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In: Fertility and Sterility. - : Elsevier BV. - 0015-0282. ; 112:1, s. 3-10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Absolute uterine factor infertility, due to absence or non-function of the uterus, is one of the few major subgroups of infertility that has remained without any treatment. Uterus transplantation has now been proposed as treatment for this type of infertility. The first attempt of human uterus transplantation was in 2000. This was a live donor case, but due to suboptimal surgical solutions it resulted in a necrotic uterus being removed after 99 days. This first human case, although a failure, inspired several research groups around the globe to initiate animal-based studies to investigate uterus transplantation in relation to surgery, immunosuppression, rejection and pregnancy outcome. The research was carried out in several animal species and advanced the field substantially. In 2011, the second uterus transplantation attempt was performed, and this involved a deceased donor procedure. Although the case was surgically successful, with resumed menstruations, clinical pregnancy with live birth could not be achieved. The first clinical trial of uterus transplantation was initiated in Sweden in 2013 and involved nine live donor procedures. The world's first live birth was reported from that trial in September 2014 and this was followed by two more births within that trial in November 2014. Births after uterus transplantation has since been reported from Sweden and other centers in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. Thirty human uterus transplantation procedures have been reported in the scientific literature so far but by our personal knowledge the double number of procedures have been performed. The published cases will be reviewed in detail, and we will also describe the pregnancies of the live births that have been published. A small number of graft failures have occurred. These may in part be linked to suboptimal selection of donors, specifically concerning the quality of the uterine arteries. Consequently, we will also address the issue of strategies for pre-surgical screening of donors. © 2019
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| 10. |
- Brännström, Mats, 1958, et al.
(author)
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Live birth after robotic-assisted live donor uterus transplantation.
- 2020
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In: Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley. - 1600-0412 .- 0001-6349. ; 99:9, s. 1222-1229
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The proof-of-concept of uterus transplantation, as a treatment for absolute uterine factor infertility, came with the first live birth after uterus transplantation, which took place in Sweden in 2014. This was after a live donor procedure, with laparotomy in both donor and recipient. In our second, ongoing trial we introduced a robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery of the donor to develop minimal invasive surgery for this procedure. Here, we report the surgery and pregnancy behind the first live birth from that trial.In the present study, within a prospective observational study, a 62-year-old mother was the uterus donor and her 33-year-old daughter with uterine absence as part of the Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, was the recipient. Donor surgery was mainly done by robotic-assisted laparoscopy, involving dissections of the utero-vaginal fossa, arteries and ureters. The last part of surgery was by laparotomy. Recipient laparotomy included vascular anastomoses to the external iliac vessels. Data relating to in vitro fertilization, surgery, follow up, obstetrics and postnatal growth are presented.Three in vitro fertilization cycles prior to transplantation gave 12 cryopreserved embryos. The surgical time of the donor in the robot was 360minutes, according to protocol. The durations for robotic surgery for dissections of the utero-vaginal fossa, arteries and ureters were 30, 160 and 84minutes, respectively. The remainder of donor surgery was by laparotomy. Recipient surgery included preparations of the vaginal vault, three end-to-side anastomoses (one arterial, two venous) on each side to the external iliacs and fixation of the uterus. Ten months after transplantation, one blastocyst was transferred and resulted in pregnancy, which proceeded uneventfully until elective cesarean section in week 36+1 . A healthy boy (Apgar 9-10-10) was delivered. Follow up of child has been uneventful for 12months.This is the first report of a live birth after use of robotic-assisted laparoscopy in uterus transplantation and is thereby a proof-of-concept of use of minimal invasive surgery in this new type of transplantation.
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