TESA
Microsurgical testicular sperm extraction (microTESE) is a surgical procedure used to retrieve sperm from the seminiferous tubules of a male’s testes, performed under local anesthesia. It’s used for men with non-obstructive azoospermia , which is when a man cannot produce enough sperm to have a detectable amount in his semen — a common cause of male infertility.
We usually recommend microTESE in these cases:
- If a man has an adequate level of testosterone in his blood after a hormone test and has other exams indicating that his testicles are not making normal amounts of sperm.
- If a man remains azoospermic even though he has received treatment and his testosterone levels have been normal for at least four months.
The microTESE success rate is quite favorable for men. In fact, doctors are able to find sperm approximately 60 % of the time during microTESE procedures. If the sperm are present in the tissue, they can be used to fertilise the eggs in the ICSI procedure . If no sperm is found or the testicular tissue is very poor, it is sent to histopathological examination. The findings are important when deciding on the possibility of donated semen for the needs of MAR procedure.