Welcome to the Infertility Center of St. Louis
Over the last 43 years, Sherman J. Silber, M.D., has pioneered most of the “miracle” infertility treatments now accepted around the world for male as well as female infertility. These breakthroughs include microscopic vasectomy reversal, tubal ligation reversal, ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection), male infertility and improving success rates with IVF (in vitro fertilization) while reducing IVF costs and eliminating complications. Other areas include: egg freezing to preserve fertility, ovary transplantation and preserving fertility in cancer patients.
We intend for this site to provide you with solid, extensive information on the latest in infertility, and to provide some information about our center.
If you have any questions or would like even more information, please feel free to contact us.
“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 discusses fertility preservation for cancer patients with Megyn Kelly on The Today Show.
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 performed IVF live on The Today Show. You can see all the shows from beginning to the baby.
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, and help younger women and cancer patients preserve their fertility.
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. Intra-cytoplasmic 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. 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.
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 remarkable for preserving fertility in young cancer patients who otherwise would become sterile as a result of their curative chemotherapy and radiation.
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. Dr. Silber re-operates on many men who have had unsuccessful vasectomy reversals elsewhere. Dr. Silber was the first in the US to perform microsurgical tubal ligation reversal and was the first in the world to develop microsurgical vasectomy reversal. He has a success rate of over 98% and has performed over 8,000 procedures, dwarfing all other centers in the world.
Ovary Freezing and Transplantation:
First with identical twins, now with non-identical sisters. Using the same technique to freeze the ovary before cancer treatment, we can hold your biological clock so you can have children at a later time. 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 curative chemotherapy and radiation. Click the links below to learn more about ovary transplantation:
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.
Other procedures:
There are many other unique procedures we can successfully perform for patients with heretofore considered hopeless infertility. Microsurgical sperm retrieval is the technique for retrieving sperm directly from the testicles of men who have no sperm in the ejaculate. With advanced cryogenic technology, sperm, eggs, embryos, and ovarian tissue can be stored indefinitely to better ensure one’s future fertility. This website contains detailed information on embryo, sperm, and egg freezing, sperm retrieval, and uterine reconstructive surgery breakthroughs like for adenomyosis.
The Infertility Center of St. Louis also offers pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of embryos. This reduces the risk for miscarriages and multiple pregnancies, and provides screening for birth defects such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, Tay-Sachs, and Down’s syndrome, etc.
Learn more about:
Other information:
Dr. Silber also answers some common questions about infertility in our Frequently Asked Questions section, and in transcripts from his guest appearances in an online chat at TalkCity.com and an online chat at Mom.com.
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, completely revised and updated in 2007, 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 infertility.
A Special Message From Dr. Silber About Your Biological Clock and Preserving Your Fertility
Click Here
Dr Silber, head of the team that evaluated over 20,000 cycles of Mini IVF and natural IVF and discovered that 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.
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.