Testosterone is an important male hormone. It influences functions from sex drive and fertility to body weight and mood — but low testosterone is a common problem for many men. Learn the signs of low testosterone and what you can do about it.
For men who have azoospermia or no sperm in the ejaculate, one solution to enable pregnancy is a surgical sperm retrieval. In essence it is a minor surgical procedure whereby tissue or fluid with sperm is surgically removed from the testis or epididymis and that sperm is used to initiate a pregnancy through In Vitro Fertilization with ICSI. Many couples take advantage of this procedure to have children; however, one concern that is often raised is whether there is any additional risk to the child when using surgically retrieved sperm.
An article from Oslo University hospital, Sweden and from University Hospital of Northern Norway, by Tanbo et al (Reprod Biomed Online, 2014) reports on more than four hundred pregnancies conceived over six years using non ejaculated sperm and compares results to more than nine hundred pregnancies conceived with ejaculated sperm. Findings revealed that sex ratio, birth weight, rate of pregnancy loss, and incidence of congenital malformations showed no significant differences between the two groups. These results should prove extremely reassuring to patients dealing with findings of azoospermia. Given that I perform a number of surgical sperm retrieval procedures for my patient, this information will be genuinely helpful in my practice.
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Testosterone is an important male hormone. It influences functions from sex drive and fertility to body weight and mood — but low testosterone is a common problem for many men. Learn the signs of low testosterone and what you can do about it.
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A vasectomy is considered a permanent method of male birth control. But if you’ve had a vasectomy, does that mean you can’t ever father a child? If your family planning goals have changed, vasectomy reversal could be right for you.
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Testicular sperm extraction can be a successful fertility treatment for men, whether they’re facing infertility or they previously had a vasectomy. If you’re infertile but you hope to father a child, it’s time to learn more about this microsurgery.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects millions of men, and it gets increasingly common with age. But is it an unavoidable part of getting older? Learn more about the signs of ED and how treatment could enhance your sex life, no matter your age.