TESE and Non Obstructive Azoospermia

Plain-language summary

Azoospermia is complete absence of sperm in the ejaculate. It accounts for 10-15% of male infertility cases. It is classified as obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). NOA constitutes 60% of all cases of azoospermia. Testicular sperm extraction (TESE) for intracytoplas¬mic sperm injection (ICSI) was first introduced for treatment of obstructive azoospermia in 1993. Soon afterwards testicular sperm were retrieved successfully and used in ICSI in cases of NOA. In the NOA cases, TESE combined with ICSI has been proven to be an acceptable line of treatment. Microdissection TESE may have some theoretical benefits over conventional TESE, but uncertainty exists about its superiority. During a conventional TESE procedure, the testis is exposed through a small incision and one or multiple biopsies are taken blindly. Micro TESE was first introduced in 1999. In this technique, the tunica albuginea is widely opened and examination of the testicular tissue is carried out at 20-25× magnification under an operating microscope allowing visualization of whitish, larger and more opaque tubuli. The concept of this technique is that these tubuli are more likely to contain active spermatogenesis. also no secure clinical predictors of (SR) are demonstrated for both procedures.The recovery of spermatozoa is successful in only 50% of cases and therefore the ability to predict those patients with a high probability of achieving a successful sperm retrieval would be of great value in counselling the patient and his partner . There is no single clinical finding or investigation that can accurately predict the outcome of TESE.An unsuccessful sperm recovery has important emotional and financial implications so objective counselling based on predictive factors may offer realistic expectations for both the couple and physician.

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