Tuesday Block 3

Tuesday Block 3

>> tens of thousands of dollars of couples across the country, is hoping to grow their families, an empty nursery for months because of covid-19.

Joining us to talk about the impact here in the low country is dr. scott sullivan, professor of internal medicine at ousc.

And good to see you.

>> thank you for having me.

>> so we've been reading articles about other parts of the country suffering from this, couples hoping to start or continue fertility treatments and were unable to do so, and it put a long gap in their abilit to see a doctor and get the process going so, has that similar effect been experienced here in the low country?

>> fortunately, it has not.

Through a combination of a lot of hard work and planning and some luck in terms how it hit here, we have been able to avoid any significant interruption of fertility services.

>> that's good to hear and what do you think you tribute to that?

>> if you remember back in march, when everything was shutting down, we shut down as well outpatient services but it was really brief.

It was only really two or three weeks, at which time we transitioned a lot of intern visits to it telemedicine visits, and the patients caught in that window had a short postponement.

And i'm not aware of anybody who missed a cycle or procedure.

And during that time, we got our safety protocols and really ramp under the testing, so we were able to get patients back into the office in really short order.

And it's interesting, though the numbers now are much worse than in march, we're back to normal operations because we're able to put everything in place.

>> that's great to hear, but let's talk about the risk of skipping treatments, and all that it entails for couples to conceive.

>>> fertilities treatments by nature are complex, and involve a lot of precise timing.

So the patient we're the most worried about is someone who has anyone been in the process for weeks or months, and then up these medications or procedures all planned out, so if there would be an interruption, it would be the patient most impacted, and form, ours was so brief that didn't happen.

The other where its weeks or months long, where cycles have been channeled.

>> let's talk about someone walking into your office for the first time and seeking fertility treats, and at that point, if they were not able to conceive with ivf and other methods.

>> it's variable.

We have an entire group of sub specialists here, and they do a number of things.

Some patients come in with out a diagnoses, and they need a diagnoses, and some patients have come from other cities, where they have been unsuccessful.

Some patients just want consultation and they want advice, and so it really runs the gamut and sometimes it takes awhile to do an investigation and a workup before any treatments begin, and of course there's a wide range of is treatments.

Some need something modest and short and some need it complex.

>> i want to hear about the timeline for most patients, and what the treatments >> welcome back, we have been chatting with dr. scott sullivan, and you've been talking about covid-19 and how it has affected couples hoping to conceive, and in other parts of the country, we learned that a lot of couples didn't have treatment for the month of march, and for some, this could have been devastating.

Are we looking at a couple that could have completely mixed their window for hopes of conceiving or is that a significant play for medical at the treatments?

>> i think that's possible for more complex patients, and i would say for everybody it's incredibly frustrating because the infertility process can create a lot of anxiety.

Buzz its emotional and to have a forced hiatus, they had a plan orve saved their none or set their lives around what's coming and it can really be upsetting, so for medically complex patients, who are older and have less time to spare so to speak, it can be even more medically significant.

So frustrating for everyone, and for some patients, it could definitely be detrimental.

>> here in the low country, you didn't skip a beat when all of this was going down, and you were able to pick back up faster than a lot of polices in the country.

And i want to talk about some of the different methods of fertility treatments.

So ivf is one of the last resorts, and the timeline, someone coming in for a diagnoses, and how long that typically lasts.

Can you give us an idea?

>> sure, and of course ivf, it's one of the more complex methods that we have.

But some patients have to go right to that with some diagnoses, right?

But some patients who come in with out audition, or what we might call unexplained fertility might go through a progress.

We might start of simply with some medication for a few months, and then they might go through some artificial insemination and tests with their partners, and some patients might end up with ivf after going through that process, so it's definitely not a one size fits all, so we can give the right treatment toover patient.

While our process is very good, and we have success rates.

And some patients are definitely not successful and of course we alley the patients that's possible, and there are alternatives, and things that we help them with like surrogacy and adoption and those types of things.

>> so there are always options like surrogacy and adoption, and in i could ask you one more question, any new technology on the horizon for couples who hope to conceives?

>> the one thing over the years, things keep getting better insters of medications and will be tore signs, i think that offers optimism and hope for patients that that progress will continue, and it's a constant process of research and translational bedside science, and yes, they can are better now than they have ever been, and i think that's going to continue.

>> i think that's a great note to end on.