conventional therapies such as drugs or surgery are used to treat 85 percent to 90 percent of infertility cases. examples of reproductive surgery for men are vasectomy reversal and varicocele repair a procedure that may restore fertility by treating varicose veins in the scrotum. examples of fertility-related surgery for women include removal of noncancerous tumors in the uterus called fibroids and the removal of endometriosis implants which can cause infertility. there are two types of ovulation drug treatments approved by the fda. clomid and serophene (clomiphene citrate) are taken by mouth. repronex and pergonal (human gonadotropins) are injected. both types stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs. clomiphene is usually the first line of treatment in women with ovulation problems. "in women who are not ovulating 60 percent to 85 percent of women will ovulate with clomiphene and 30 percent to 40 percent will become pregnant " says audrey gassman m. d. a medical reviewer in the fda's division of reproductive and urologic drug products. one of the risks of ovulation-inducing drugs is that more than one fetus may result. drugs that stimulate ovulation are often used with intrauterine insemination a procedure in which millions of sperm are inserted into a woman's uterus around the time of ovulation to increase the chance of pregnancy. a partner's sperm or donor sperm may be used.
what are conventional treatments for infertility?