CRE News
Denver Reproductive Doctor Honored with Appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor
University of Colorado recognizes Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology Doctor Susan Trout for her efforts in teaching the next generation of physicians
Denver, CO- In recognition for her teaching efforts in working with medical residents, Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology physician Dr. Susan Trout has been named an associate clinical professor by the University of Colorado.
This appointment will further allow Trout to pursue her goal of educating CU medical students by working with them first-hand in class and with clinical procedures.
Trout said she is looking forward to continuing to teach the next generation of physicians.
“I am delighted that the residents I teach, and the CU medical staff has given me this tip of the hat,” Trout said. “I love being a teaching doctor, so this appointment means the world to me, and I look forward to building on the teaching work I have already done.”
A fertility doctor, Trout has herself gone through the heart-ache of not being able to have a baby of her own, which she says has given her a more personal connection with her patients.
“I see myself in my patients all the time; I went through the same struggles and the same uncertainty,” she said. “It has made me a better doctor every day.”
Trout received her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University before moving on to graduate with a doctorate of medicine from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Trout completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She then completed a reproductive endocrinology fellowship at the same school before joining the faculty full-time to see patients, teach, and do research. She remained part of the UMDNJ faculty until 2001, when she joined a large private fertility medical practice called RMA of New Jersey.
Desiring the more intimate one-on-one patient experience offered by a smaller medical practice, Dr. Trout left her job at RMA of New Jersey in 2002 and moved to Denver to join the staff at Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology.
Dr. Trout is board certified in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, as well as obstetrics and gynecology. In addition to writing research papers, Trout has at times been a regular contributor to Fertility and Sterility, the journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
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Colorado Fertility Doctors-National Infertility Awareness Week Draws Attention to Disease Affecting Millions of Americans
Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology doctors are offering free phone consultations in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week April 22-28
Denver, CO April 22, 2012-Doctors at Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology, seeking to help inform the public about the disease of infertility, are offering free telephone consultations to anyone who has been trying to have a child without success.
Dr. Diane Woodford, a fertility specialist at CRE, said that many couples just assume they will be able to get pregnant and are taken by surprise when they start trying to have a family but are unsuccessful.
“The need for an increased awareness about infertility is critical,” Woodford said. “If patients better understand the basics of fertility and reproduction, they will increase their chances of successfully having a baby.”
The causes of fertility problems can rest in the man or the woman, and are sometimes entirely unknown. Genetics, age, environment, and a patient’s health history are often contributing factors.
Too commonly in the past, women were blamed for infertility and often made to feel ashamed for an inability to have a family. Women should instead be aware that they are not alone – millions of people suffer from infertility and many treatment options are available.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About 10% of women (6.1 million) in the United States ages 15–44 years have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant.”
The CDC adds that times have changed and many women are waiting until they are in their 30s and 40s to try to have children, and nearly 20% of American women are now having their first child after age 35. This means that advanced maternal age may be a growing cause of fertility problems.
Resolve, the National Infertility Association, a non-profit group established in 1974, has chosen the theme “Don’t Ignore Infertility” for 2012’s National Infertility Awareness Week. According to Resolve, this year’s theme was chosen because, “every voice that speaks out about the realities of infertility, and every act that acknowledges infertility as a medical condition with far-reaching social and emotional implications, helps tear down the wall of ignorance and silence that surrounds this devastating disease.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, “Although not getting pregnant is an indication of possible infertility, only a health care provider can provide a diagnosis of infertility. Those who suspect they are infertile should see their health care providers.”
“An infertility diagnosis can be devastating to anyone, and most people are unaware of how common it is and how many families it affects,” CRE reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Susan Trout said. “We are offering these phone consultations to anyone who thinks they may be infertile so that questions can be answered and treatment options, if needed, can be explained clearly.”
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Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology Expands LGBT Family-Building Program, Adds Colorado’s First Gay and Lesbian Fertility Website
This new website is the first of its kind in the state of Colorado and only one of a handful of fertility practice websites in the United States designed for the LGBT community.
Denver, CO (PRWEB) March 07, 2012
As part of its suite of services tailored towards the LGBT community, Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology, a fertility treatment clinic serving patients in Colorado and the Western United States, is announcing the launch ofhttp://www.lgbtcoloradofertility.com, an informational website designed to facilitate the family-building process for the gay and lesbian community.
The website, spearheaded by reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Diane Woodford, was started to fill a need in the treatment of gay and lesbian couples who want to start their own biological family.
“This is an extraordinary addition to the infertility treatment services we already offer the LGBT community,” Woodford said. “We have looked closely at the special family-building needs of the gay community and created a program specifically tailored towards them. This is part of our commitment to helping all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, have their own biological children.”
This new website is the first of its kind in the state of Colorado and only one of a handful of fertility practice websites in the United States designed for the LGBT community.
CRE agrees with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s ethics committee whose statement on LGBT families states that there is an “ethical duty to treat single persons and gay and lesbian couples equally with married couples,” adding that “we find no sound ethical basis for licensed professionals to deny reproductive services to unmarried or homosexual persons.”
Over the past 10 years, Dr. Woodford, along CRE reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Susan Trout, have helped hundreds of LGBT couples successfully fulfill their dream of having their own biological family.
CRE pledges to support LGBT patients throughout the family-building process including providing referrals to the best agencies for surrogates and gestational carriers and egg and sperm donors, along with needed legal and psychological support. CRE works closely with agencies that adhere to the highest screening standards for sperm donors, egg donation, and gestational carriers. These standards ensure the highest safety and protect patients from potential medical or legal complications.
CRE is committed to breaking barriers and considers procreation to be the most natural of human desires.
“We have looked closely at the special family building needs of the LGBT community and created a program specially designed to maximize their success,” Dr. Trout said. “Everyone deserves to have a family, it is inherent in who we are as human beings regardless of our sexual orientation.”
“This program reflects our dedication to making fertility services more accessible for anyone who is seeking to start their family-building journey,” Woodford said
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Fertility Success Story: Amanda’s Story
Amanda and her husband were frustrated. They had been trying to get pregnant for over three years, with no luck.
“I really wanted to use my own eggs, but my first fertility doctor didn’t see that as a good option,” Amanda recalls. “That was the impetus to get a second opinion and look for a different fertility center in Denver, which is how we found Dr. Woodford and Rose Medical Center.”
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Denver reproductive doctor a cut above the rest in robotic surgery competency
Dr. Susan Trout, a physician at Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology, has been awarded a distinction for her expertise in using minimally invasive robotic surgery to treat infertility. Trout is the only reproductive doctor in the Denver area with this level of expertise in robotic surgical techniques.
DENVER- Intuitive Surgical, makers of the da Vinci Surgical System, has announced that Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology Doctor Susan Trout is being commended for her expertise in using minimally invasive robotic surgery to treat women’s health and reproductive issues. Trout is the only reproductive endocrinologist in Denver to be given such a distinction.
This recognition is only given to doctors who have completed extensive training with the da Vinci robot, along with demonstrating advanced surgical skills and completing a large number of robotic surgical procedures.
“This technology is changing the face of surgery, and soon it will become the new norm,” Trout said. “As a doctor, I always try to embrace anything that will make life easier for our patients.”
Dr. Diane Woodford, reproductive endocrinologist and practice partner at CRE said robotic surgery is, “a major leap in technology for our patients’ wellness. It is the perhaps the biggest advancement in surgery in decades.”
To use the da Vinci robot, a doctor sits at a console and looks through magnified lenses while operating foot, hand and thumb controls which manipulate tiny, ultra-precise Instruments that perform the surgery on the patient.
“The robot doesn’t do anything our hands aren’t controlling,” Woodford said. “It is precise and extremely comfortable to use which is a big advantage. We always prefer to send patients home to recover after surgery instead of having them spend the night in the hospital, minimally invasive surgery helps us do just that.”
The advantage of having an operation with the da Vinci robot is that patients can avoid more invasive open surgical techniques in favor of minimally invasive ones. This can mean shorter recovery times and less pain or scarring.
Shelby Burnette, a patient of Trout who underwent a tubal ligation reversal when she decided to have a third child at age 40 said, “I did a lot of online research about how they do robotic surgery and everything out there seemed to indicate that you had a better recovery time. I was encouraged by that. Once I got into the recovery room and everything was fine, they sent me right on my way home.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, use of the da Vinci system has “quadrupled in the last four years, and the machine now helps with incisions and sutures in 2,000 hospitals around the world.”
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Fertility Specialists Warn Consumers of Health Risks Posed By Free Online Sperm Donors
While the FDA has cracked down on online sperm donation, doctors at Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology in Denver want consumers to understand that free donor sperm may not be properly tested for disease and could expose hopeful parents to HIV, hepatitis, and other diseases
Some donors purport to be interested in helping infertile couples, single women, and lesbians start a family, but recipients have no way of knowing if the donor is a seed-spreading egomaniac, altruistic nice guy, or worst of all part of a fly-by-night online scam.
“There have been several sites popping up on the Internet giving away free sperm,” Dr. Susan Trout, a fertility physician at Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology said. “The problem is that it isn’t always tested, as per FDA regulations, to make sure the donor doesn’t have HIV, hepatitis, gonorrhea, syphilis, or other diseases.”
While the Food and Drug Administration regulates the terms under which free sperm can be obtained, there has been no official legal crackdown on free sperm donors because technically- it’s not illegal. And while the FDA has established standards for the testing of sperm and the eligibility of donors, not all websites may be adhering to the law.
Dr. Betsy Cairo at CryoGam Colorado, a Loveland, Colorado based laboratory which offers sperm banking, donor sperm, and embryo and oocyte storage wants patients to be educated on the risks.
“There was a situation in California where a man was selling sperm off the Internet and was shut down,” Cairo said. “Sperm is a transplantable tissue, regulated by the FDA, so women need to understand that they can be at risk for sexually transmitted infections.”
In 2005, the FDA established standards for sperm donation “to create a unified registration and listing system for establishments that manufacture human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products and to establish donor-eligibility, current good tissue practice, and other procedures to prevent the introduction, transmission, and spread of communicable diseases.”
But some donors are slipping through the cracks and may not be complying.
In addition to possibly not being screened for disease, some sperm donors on free sites may not even sign away their consensual rights to parenthood. The recipient of the sperm may not even know that they are at risk of a paternity lawsuit.
“I had a patient myself who almost fell victim to one of these guys,” Trout adds. “Luckily, she asked me about it first.”
Sperm donors who may have been rejected by credible sperm banks could instead choose to become donors on the so-called “grey market” because they did not pass the rigorous psychological and physical standards upheld by legitimate fertility clinics.
Because of this, consumers cannot be sure if they are getting safe sperm unless they deal with a reputable fertility practice.
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The Good Egg
Determining when life begins is complicated by a process that unfolds months before a sperm meets an egg. For more than 20 years, Dr. Van Blerkom has been trying to understand the story that egg cells are telling, and although the tale is far from complete, some compelling new clues to early development have emerged.
Click here to navigate to online article.
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Study Finds Way to Pick Healthiest Embryos
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists said on Wednesday they may have found a good way to identify the healthiest embryos for use in making test-tube babies – and discovered some basic biology in the process.
Little structures called microtubules in the egg cell may be key, infertility specialist Dr. Sam Alexander of Colorado Reproductive Endocrinology and colleagues at the University of Colorado report.
Writing in the December, issue of the journal Human Reproduction, Alexander and colleagues said the microtubules transport genetic material called mitochondrial DNA, which is found in eggs.
Embryos with symmetrical microtubules seemed to be more likely to survive attempts at in-vitro fertilization (IVF), they found.
“I believe the take-home message is that these findings may help us determine the embryo quality at an earlier stage,” Alexander said in a statement.
“We feel that using methods to judge embryo quality in the first three days of culture is a much more sensible and intelligent approach than the five-day, survival of the fittest, embryo approach.”
Biology professor Jonathan Van Bierkom of the University of Colorado, who worked on the study, said if the microtubule arrays in the egg cell do not mirror each other at the very first division of the cell, half of the tiny embyo, known technically as a blasomere, may not have enough of the structures.
“Eventually there may not be enough mitochondria in the blastomeres to produce a healthy embryo,” he said.
When a couple seeks to have a baby through IVF, doctors create many embryos in a laboratory dish, and then try to select the healthiest ones to implant in the mother’s womb.
Screening for microtabules might offer a good way to do this check, the researchers suggested.
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Human Preimplantation Embryo Selection
Dr. Trout and Dr. Van Blerkom helped write this comprehensive overview which sheds light on the ever-expanding techniques that are being employed and evaluated with regard to embryo selection.
To view, please click here
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Essential IVF basic research and clinical applications
Read about Dr. Van Blerkom’s text book on IVF.
To read about his text book, please click here
