Welcome to the Infertility Center of St. Louis
Over the last 43 years, Sherman J. Silber, M.D., and his team have pioneered most of the “miracle” infertility treatments now accepted around the world for both male and female infertility. These breakthroughs (which he was the first to develop) include ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) for male infertility (even when there is little to no sperm) and improving success rates with IVF (in vitro fertilization) while reducing IVF costs and eliminating complications through his remarkable Mini-IVF technology (which greatly simplifies IVF and improves success rates even with older patients). He was also the first to pioneer in the United States: egg freezing to preserve fertility, ovary transplantation to preserve fertility in cancer patients, microscopic vasectomy reversal, and tubal ligation reversal.
We intend for this site to provide you with solid and extensive information on infertility, and to try to answer your many questions.
You can also call or write for any further information.
“Sherman is the best infertility doc in the world, bar none.”
“Infertile couples from all over the world come to St. Louis, Missouri, to chase their dream, because Dr. Sherman Silber and his team are simply the best there is.” – Discovery Health Channel Documentary
Dr. Silber performed IVF live on The Today Show. You can see all the shows from beginning to the baby.
Dr. Silber interviews cancer patients both before ovary freezing and years after they defeated cancer to then go on to have successful pregnancies.
Dr. Silber’s classic book, How to Get Pregnant, lays out in simple, clear terms the basic information that will help infertile couples learn how they can have a healthy, happy baby.
IVF and ICSI:
In vitro fertilization (IVF) means that fertilization takes place outside the body, in a small glass dish, and the fertilized eggs, i.e., embryos, are then placed directly into the uterus. IVF was originally used in cases where the fallopian tubes are damaged preventing natural pregnancy, but now it is successful for virtually all types of infertility. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is recommended for fertilization to make sure the sperm (even poor quality sperm) fertilizes the egg properly. In ICSI, the eggs and the sperm are fertilized in the laboratory, by direct injection of a single sperm into each egg. The resulting embryos are then simply placed into the uterus with no surgery, just as with IVF. Dr. Silber and colleagues in Brussels were the original developers of intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection for the severest cases of male infertility, even azoospermia. His team is so experienced and competent with ICSI that they use it for all IVF to get the best fertilization results. Dr. Silber and Japanese collaborators have recently developed a new “mini-IVF” technique that saves money, eliminates complications of IVF, and is useful for older women and women with low ovarian reserve. He has pioneered “mini-IVF” in the United States, which lower cost dramatically and increases pregnancy rates.
IVF cost is a major concern of most infertile couples. Our “mini-IVF” protocol allows us to use less drugs (with virtually no hormonal side effects) to get fewer and better-quality eggs. This reduces cost in half and actually increases success rates.
Egg Freezing to Preserve Fertility:
There are now techniques to literally freeze your biological clock and preserve your fertility so that you can have children later, when you are older and ready to have children. Egg, ovarian tissue, embryo, and sperm can all be preserved indefinitely, and furthermore we have perfected our freeze/thaw procedures to achieve success rates which are just as high as with “fresh” eggs. We even have the ability now to determine precisely where you are on your biological clock , so that you will know exactly how long your fertility can be expected to last. Egg and ovary freezing are also remarkable for preserving fertility in young cancer patients who otherwise would become sterile as a result of their curative chemotherapy and radiation. Our clinic is the only one in the United States successfully freezing and transplanting back ovary tissue for cancer patients.
Vasectomy Reversal and Tubal Ligation Reversal:
Microscopic vasectomy reversal allows men who have had a vasectomy to become fertile again. Tubal ligation reversal does the same for previously sterilized women. Vasectomy reversal is performed under a microscope with very high magnification, using delicate instruments and suture that Dr. Silber designed specifically for this surgery. This microscopic technique was first invented by Dr. Silber in 1975 and revolutionized vasectomy reversal. Dr. Silber re-operates on many men who have had unsuccessful vasectomy reversals elsewhere. Also, we can microsurgically and almost painlessly retrieve sperm and inject into your wife’s eggs (ICSI) as an alternative. Dr. Silber was, in addition, the first in the US to perform microsurgical tubal ligation reversal. He has a success rate of over 90% and has performed over 8,000 such procedures, dwarfing all other centers in the world.
Ovary Freezing and Transplantation:
First with identical twins, then with non-identical sisters, our center was the first in the world to perform successful ovary transplants. Using this technique to freeze the ovary before cancer treatment, we can stop your biological clock so you can have children at a later date after you are cured of the cancer. As with egg freezing, ovary freezing is remarkable for preserving fertility in young cancer patients who otherwise would become sterile as a result of their chemotherapy and radiation.
Leukemia patient cured by bone marrow transplant from her sister as a 4 year old, 25 years later receives ovary transplant from her sister to restore her lost fertility – Fox Channel 2 St. Louis.
Men With No Sperm:
For men with heretofore considered hopeless infertility, with “no sperm,” microsurgical sperm retrieval is the technique for retrieving sperm directly from the testicles of men who have no sperm in the ejaculate.
Women With Abnormal Uterus:
Adenomyosis And Fibroids
Women with multiple fibroids and, even worse, “adenomyosis” are generally considered inoperable and are just advised to remove their uterus. That would eliminate their chance of ever getting pregnant. However, with our adenomyomectomy operation, we can now successfully save your uterus. This operation was originally taught to us by the famous Dr. Hiaso Osada, who now is retired. No one else in the world performs it, but our results with it are spectacular for the worst cases of adenomyosis of the uterus. You do not have to lose your uterus.
PGD-PGS-PGT-A: Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis:
The Infertility Center of St. Louis also offers pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of embryos, and we were one of the earliest centers to employ this, in the 1990’s. We are very experienced and knowledgeable with embryo genetic diagnosis. This reduces the risk for transmission of genetic disease you might be a carrier for and provides screening for birth defects such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, Tay-Sachs, and Down’s syndrome, etc. However, general PGS or PGT-A for chromosome counting(without looking for a specific gene defect) is very inaccurate, can reduce pregnancy rate, and increase the cost dramatically. So you should be carefully advised about it. Many clinics erroneously and deceptively perform this on all patients just to generate more revenue needlessly.
Learn more about:
More In Depth information:
Dr. Silber answers common questions about infertility in our Frequently Asked Questions section, and in transcripts from his guest appearances in an online chat at TalkCity.com, online chat at Mom.com, and on facebook live.
In the News focuses on important developments in the science of infertility treatment, with articles of general interest and a selection of some of Dr. Silber’s scientific research papers. Also take a look at our selection of online video and audio (Media Library), optimized for downloading. Dr. Sherman Silber’s detailed book is summarized in the How to Get Pregnant section, as is a complete bibliography, for those who wish to study the field more deeply. About Dr. Silber gives you a closer look at the biography of this renowned pioneer in microsurgery and IVF.
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MINI-IVF :
Dr Silber, head of the team that evaluated over 20,000 cycles of Mini IVF and natural IVF, and discovered that at any given age group, the live baby rate per egg is 4-5x higher with Mini IVF than with conventional massive stimulation. These results were reported at European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in June 2019.
Other Informative News Items :
Dr. Silber Performs First Ever Ovary Transplant in China.Read More
Listen to Dr. Silber on Health and Wellness with Monica Adams discussing egg freezing, male infertility, and mini-IVF on KMOX in St. Louis. January 29, 2012. (9:26 min)
Listen to Dr. Silber and Joan Hamburg discuss the infertility epidemic on WOR Radio in New York. October 10, 2007. (24:29 min)
Listen to Dr. Silber discuss the biological clock, preserving your fertility and egg freezing on the KMOX Health and Fitness Show with Monica Adams. March 2, 2008. (20:58 min)
Ovary cryopreservation and transplantation for fertility preservation. Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol.18, No.2, 2012
“Survivors Reach New Fertile Ground” LIVESTRONG Quarterly magazine, Summer/Fall 2011. Read More
News Video of freezing the biological clock; the new techniques for preserving a woman’s fertility indefinitely.
Cancer patient Amy Tucker becomes pregnant after her frozen ovarian tissue is transplanted by Dr. Silber- Fox Channel 2 St. Louis
St. Louis doctor helping women preserve chance at motherhood at no fees altruistically until the day when insurance will pay
Listen to Dr. Sherman Silber and Joan Hamburg discuss the remarkable infertility treatment meeting that recently took place in Hong Kong. WOR New York, February 28, 2013. (9:26 min)
Listen to Dr. Sherman Silber on KMOX Discussing Mini-IVF and Egg Freezing, September 16, 2012. (9:47 min)
“America is leaps and bounds ahead of the UK when it comes to fertility treatment, particularly in the field of Ovarian Tissue Freezing…” Fertility Roadmagazine, March/April 2011.Read More
“For women who are told IVF isn’t an option, mini-IVF could be a more successful path to parenthood…” Fertility Roadmagazine, May/June 2011.Read More
Two of Dr. Silber’s patients relate their experiences receiving care at the Infertility Center of St. Louis.
Click here to see more videos from the Infertility Center St. Louis Media Library.