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The dream of practically all couples is to start a family, but in some cases difficulties appear along the way, hindering their realization. Although there are several cases of problems with women, often the greatest difficulty in reproducing is in men. It is usually the amount of sperm that is ejaculated, usually too low to be able to get your partner pregnant. But what to do about it? Well, there are some treatments and procedures that can be done to solve this problem, such as testicular puncture .
It is clear that testicular puncture is not the only existing procedure to enable a couple to have children. It is always important to investigate the causes thoroughly before making any decision, and it is clear that medical monitoring is essential for everything to go well.
Unlike some types of surgical interventions that can also be performed, testicular puncture can help find live sperm still at the origin of the male reproductive canal, which can solve the couple’s problem.
What is Testicular Puncture?
Testicular puncture is one of the most used procedures in cases of male infertility. It basically consists of removing the sperm from the epididymis or even the testicles with the use of a needle. This method usually helps because, there are many cases of men who do not have live sperm in ejaculation, that is, they have the famous azoospermia, but who have them at the beginning of their reproductive system.
When does it need to be done?
Through some types of tests, a doctor can realize that there are no sperm in a man’s ejaculation. The name given to this phenomenon is azoospermia.
It is at this time that the doctor can suggest that the man perform a testicular puncture, which consists of the extraction of sperm made by a needle directly from his testicles or epididymis. In the procedure a very fine needle with a syringe is used.
Even so, the patient is usually sedated before the procedure begins, although in some cases he only needs local anesthesia for testicular puncture to occur.
Testicular Puncture Techniques
There are differences in the types of anesthesia that each patient needs to take when performing a testicular function because there are different types of doing this procedure. Each of them with a higher level of complexity. The three types of testicular puncture are:
- PESA (Percutaneous Sperm Aspiration of the Epididymis)
- TESA (Percutaneous Aspiration of Testicular Sperm)
- THESIS (Testicular Sperm Biopsy Extraction)
We will talk about each of these procedures separately to delve deeper into the explanation of the level of complexity and how invasive they can be for a man’s body.
PESA (Percutaneous Sperm Aspiration of the Epididymis)
It is the least invasive and most tranquil testicular puncture technique, since the fluid removed is from the epididymis without the need for opening the scrotum. It is usually the procedure done for men who have had a vasectomy. Another advantage is that, as it is a simpler procedure, only the use of local anesthesia is enough for the procedure to be performed.
TESA (Percutaneous Aspiration of Testicular Sperm)
TESA is the technique used by doctors if no live sperm are found in the epididymis. In general, it is a procedure very similar to the one mentioned above, but with the difference that it is done directly in the testicles , where sperm are produced.
THESIS (Testicular Sperm Biopsy Extraction)
TESE is a much more invasive and complex procedure than the other two, as it is a minor surgery . In this type of testicular puncture, a cut of about 2 centimeters is made in the skin of the scrotum so that the epididymis is exposed. After that, the liquid is aspirated directly from one of the tubules of the epididymis.
Testicular Biopsy
It is important not to confuse testicular biopsy with testicular puncture. In this case, the procedure performed is somewhat different, since surgery is performed, removing a small portion of the organ so that sperm can be captured directly from the sample . Despite having the same purpose, the procedures are done in very different ways.
Contraindications
In general terms, the contraindications for doing this procedure are very few, not least because it is something simple and almost nothing harmful to the man’s body, even TESE, which is the most invasive type of testicular puncture. The greatest contraindication is for men who have some serious testicular disease , as this procedure could worsen the individual’s clinical condition.
Having children and building a family is the dream of many people, but unfortunately, in some cases, mishaps happen. But this does not necessarily mean that a couple will not be able to have children and fulfill their dream, especially nowadays that, with all the advances in medicine, several treatments can already be done to solve problems of reproduction both female and male.
Testicular puncture is one such case, as it is an increasingly reliable and peaceful treatment to be performed by men. There is always an alternative for this type of problem to be solved and, even if this treatment is not the solution, there are still other ways to make a couple’s dream come true. The most important thing is to be together and always fight side by side to overcome all difficulties.
See Also: How to Increase Sperm Production?
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
