Restorative (as a Principle)

In RRM, "restorative" describes care that repairs and supports the body's own reproductive function. Restorative care seeks the cause of a problem and treats it. Other approaches conceal the problem or bypass it. Suppressive medications, used to mask cycle symptoms, conceal it. IVF bypasses it and leaves the cause untreated. Restorative care can mean the removal of a device that is causing harm. It can mean the reversal of an earlier procedure, such as a tubal ligation. It can also mean treatment of the man, such as repair of a varicocele, an enlarged vein in the scrotum. Each step works with the biology of the body instead of replacing it.¹ Other fields of medicine also use the word "restorative." In reproductive medicine, RRM makes it the principle that guides both testing and treatment.