Male Infertility Tests & Procedures
Considering male factor infertility accounts for 50 percent of infertility cases, a semen analysis is recommended for most couples struggling with infertility. It is important to know that CRM is the only center in South Alabama, the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the Florida panhandle that offers a full range of medical treatments for men’s reproductive issues that includes semen testing, sperm mapping, sperm cryopreservation and storage for cancer and pre-vasectomy patients, Hyaluronan Binding Assay, and in-office epididymal aspiration, and more. Many are performed in our office or by our urology partners, and at times at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center which is conveniently connected to CRM. Below you will find a helpful outline and descriptions of some of our male diagnostic infertility tests and procedures.
Semen Analysis
Considering male factor infertility accounts for 50 percent of infertility cases, a semen analysis is recommended for most couples struggling with infertility. This test analyzes the semen to assess the sperm concentration (number), motility (movement), and morphology (shape). Having a fulltime Andrologist on staff that specializes in male reproductive issues, specifically sperm, is a unique CRM advantage that has positively impacted our success rates. Additionally, CRM is the only center that performs semen testing in-house and serves as a reference lab for OB GYN’s in Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida panhandle.
Antisperm Antibody Test
This test is done outside of our office and uses a patient’s sperm sample with a substance added that only binds to affected sperm to look for special proteins (antibodies) that fight against sperm in blood, vaginal fluids, or semen.
Hyaluronan Binding Assay (HBA)
This allows us to accurately evaluate the maturity of sperm in a fresh semen sample. The HBA is a simple technique proposed as a component of the standard semen analysis in the diagnosis of suspected male infertility, to predict sperm performance and fertilization potential.
Microsurgical Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (MESA)
A relatively painless and minimally invasive surgical procedure, this is typically performed in men with vasal or epididymal obstructions. During the procedure an incision is made in the scrotal skin and the testis and using an operating microscope, the epididymal tubules will be opened and sperm will be extracted.
Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (PESA)
Performed in our office and referred to as epididymal aspiration, this is a minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedure used to extract sperm from the epididymis, a coiled tube located behind the testicles that stores and transports sperm.
Sperm DNA Fragmentation Test
This test is used to attain more in‐depth knowledge about sperm quality due to the critical function of sperm DNA integrity for healthy embryonic development and successful reproductive outcome.
Sperm Penetration Assay (SPA)
This analyzes the ability of a man’s sperm to bind or attach to the egg membrane, penetrate the egg, and undergo decondensation, a loosening of the texture of chromatin, which are the necessary first steps of actual fertilization.
Varicocelectomy
The presence of varicose veins in the scrotum can negatively impact the quality of sperm. In this procedure varicose veins are ligated or surgically removed through a small incision in the groin. This procedure is performed by our urology partners.
Vasectomy Reversal (Vasovasostomy or Vasoepididymostomy)
This procedure reconnects the vas deferens through a small incision in the testicle to enable sperm to enter the seminal fluid once again. This procedure is performed by our urology partners.
Sperm Mapping
Sperm mapping is a procedure where multiple fine needle biopsies (fine needle aspirations or FNA) are done on the testes that enable us to see if there are any areas where sperm are being produced. While this sounds invasive, sperm mapping provides valuable information about an individual’s sperm production in a much less invasive, painful, and stressful way than even a simple biopsy. Review a few of the benefits sperm mapping offers our patients facing the challenges of infertility and why CRM is so proud to offer it.
- Sperm Mapping in advance of sperm retrieval allows for simpler sperm retrievals and can help to avoid the need for more complex procedures.
- Sperm “maps” that show no sperm can help to avoid unnecessary attempts at surgical sperm retrieval.
- Having sperm “maps” in advance allows TESE, testicular sperm extraction, procedures to successfully find enough sperm to fertilize eggs in approximately 92 – 100% of IVF cases.
- Sperm mapping successfully locates sperm in up to 30% of individuals who have previously undergone microTESE sperm retrieval procedures that fail to find sperm.