Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (PESA)
For the zero sperm count (azoospermia) man, sperm can be retrieved in some cases
from the portion above the testis called the epididymis for example in cases of
congenital absence of the vas deferens - a condition in which both the tubes transporting
sperm to the exterior are absent from birth. The sperm thus retrieved by our expert
andrologists, Dr Rupin Shah or Dr VijayKulkarni can then be used for injecting the
wife's oocytes by ICSI and thereby help give the couple their own biological offspring.
Testicular Sperm Aspiration (TESA)
For some patients with a zero sperm count (azoospermia), sperm can often be retrieved
directly from the testes using a fine needle aspiration technique - immature sperm
thus retrieved can then be matured in vitro and injected into the wife's oocytes
by ICSI to achieve a viable pregnancy and live birth.
Micro Tese
This is the latest technique incorporated by our team for cases of azoospermia where
sperms are not retrieved by conventional PESA or TESA. Here, under an operating
microscope, healthy seminiferous tubules are extracted from the testes and then
dissected to find sperms.
Steps Involved in ICSI
The mature egg is held with a
specialized holding pipette.
A very delicate, sharp and hollow
needle is used to immobilize and pick up a single sperm (which has been retrieved
from the epididymis or testicle by PESA or TESA respectively).
This needle is then carefully
inserted through the zona (shell of egg) and in to the cytoplasm of the egg.
The sperm is injected in to the
cytoplasm and the needle carefully removed. The eggs are checked the next morning
for evidence of normal fertilization.
Embryo transfer is then done.
(please see section on
IVF &
ICSI for more details)