Surgical sperm retrieval

Our fertility specialists offer private surgical sperm retrieval (SSR) treatment for patients with no sperm in their ejaculate. The treatment may be offered with an ICSI treatment cycle.

We offer the following types of SSR techniques:

  • percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA)
  • testicular sperm aspiration (TESA)
  • testicular sperm extraction (TESE)
  • microsurgical sperm extraction (Micro-TESE)

Procedure details

For PESA, a small number of sperm is obtained directly from the epididymis, which is the beginning of the outlet tube from the testicle.

If PESA is unsuccessful or not appropriate, TESA, TESE or Micro-TESE may be offered. In this procedure, the sperm is obtained directly from the testicle. These procedures are carried out under general anaesthetic before or on the day of egg collection.

Surgical sperm retrieval treatment is used in cases of:

  • congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens
  • obstruction of both ejaculatory ducts
  • azoospermia
  • failed vasovasostomy
  • failed epididymovasostomy

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