Male Infertility

Male infertility is on the rise, with testicular failure affecting about 1% of total male population and about 10% of those men are found to get evaluated for their fertility status. The belief that male infertility cannot be treated is a matter of the past; because in the present scenario, this problem can be successfully treated with various surgical procedures at Cyprus IVF Centre. With advancements in the technology and introduction of modernised techniques, the chances of infertility in men have significantly decreased. We at Cyprus IVF Centre understand that male infertility is a grave cause of both physical and emotional turmoil for the victims. Keeping this in mind, we take well defined steps to understand and design various ways and means to treat male infertility.

Too little or no sperm production is one of the major contributing factors of male infertility. Males who do not produce sperm are known to suffer from a condition termed as Azoospermia. Azoospermia are of 2 types: Obstructive and Non-obstructive. In former type, sperms are created by the man’s reproductive system, but due to physical obstruction it cannot be mixed with the fluid that is ejaculated.

In non-obstructive azoospermia no apparent physical obstruction is evident. However, there are some other factors that prevent the presence of sperm in the semen samples. In other words, there is some grave problem with spermatogenesis that leads to male infertility. Some of the factors known to play foul are the following:

• Blockages in the tubules that do not allow sperm to travel from the testicles to penis.
• Passages are underdeveloped which inhibits sperm transportation.
• Too low sperm production due to which the semen sample has no sperm.
• Vasectomy wherein the passages that carry sperm have been surgically blocked.

Several methods have been developed to treat male infertility. These include PESA, TESE and MESA which are used in conjunction with ICSI to make positive outcome a possibility in males with infertility issues. Candidates for such treatment methods are those men who either have low sperm count or no sperm at all in their semen.

PESA – Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration

The process of PESA consists of insertion of fine needle into the epididymis for fluid extraction. The epididymis is a narrow shaped, tightly coiled tube that connects the efferent ducts to vas deferens. The procedure of PESA is conducted either under general or local anaesthesia. However, at Cyprus IVF Centre, we believe that if the process is done using local anaesthesia along with sedation then the recovery will be faster with minimal side effects. The fluid that is extracted through needle aspiration is then analysed by the embryologists at Cyprus IVF Centre. Following this, the best sperm is selected for the process of ICSI.

TESE – Testicular Sperm Extraction

This is one of the most common methods employed and is the treatment of choice for those men who have had vasectomy done. It is also meant for those men in whom reversal vasectomy failed. At North Cyprus IVF Centre, the procedure is done under local anaesthesia; following which a fine needle is inserted into the testis and sample of testicular tissue extracted. The entire procedure takes about 15 minutes. The fertility specialists at Cyprus IVF Centre will carefully analyse the tissue under laboratory conditions to select the best sperm for the method of ICSI. In case, males complain of pain and discomfort after the procedure then they are given pain killer injections into the gluteus muscles to provide relief.

MESA – Micro-epididymal Sperm Aspiration

It is a treatment of choice for those men who have been diagnosed with blocked vas deferens. MESA is carried out under general anaesthesia after which sperm will directly be retrieved from the epididymis. Following this, Dr.Firdevs and Dr.Sevket will directly conduct ICSI in order to maximise the chances of fertilisation.

ICSI – Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

ICSI is one of the most commonly used treatments for male infertility. In this method, a single best sperm is directly injected into the egg for the process of fertilisation. Accomplished embryologists at Cyprus IVF Centre, select the best sperm using one of the following methods, namely PESA, TESE or MESA. Thereafter, the sperm injected egg is placed in a laboratory dish and kept in incubators with controlled temperature for the process of fertilisation to occur. The process of embryo transfer is carried out 2 – 3 days after the egg collection program.