ICSI, Treatments for Male Infertility

Male infertility is very common being present in up to 47% of infertile couples. Prior to ICSI, the only hope for couples with moderate to severe male factor infertility was to use a sperm donor. In less severe cases, intrauterine inseminate using the husbands sperm would sometimes prove effective. In general, the prognosis for creating a genetically related child was not good for men with male infertility.

ICSI has enabled thousands of men with few, or no, sperm in their ejaculate to father children. ICSI is performed in conjunction with an IVF cycle and involves injecting a single sperm directly into the egg. Sophisticated micromanipulation equipment and skill are required to produce good ICSI outcomes. Our embryologist has years of successful experience performing ICSI and other micromanipulation procedures. Fertilization rates using ICSI are typically over 70% in mature eggs. Where male infertility once had dismal outcomes, it is now possible for men with no sperm in their ejaculate to produce genetically related children.

Once the eggs have been retrieved, sperm are injected prior to placing the "pre-embryos" into the incubator. When possible the sperm are collected from the partner by masturbation. If there are no sperm in the ejaculate, surgical procedures performed by a urologist can be used to obtain sperm directly from the reproductive tract. These procedures include mid-epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA) or testicular sperm aspiration (TESA). In TESA, the sperm are retrieved directly from the testicles and in MESA they are extracted from the epididymis. As these surgically extracted sperm have less than normal motility, they are injected into each available egg. These procedures to treat male infertility are particularly important to men who cannot ejaculate, perhaps due to a spinal cord injury.

Years of experience with ICSI demonstrate that it does not increase the rate of birth defects or other abnormalities. However, data collection is an ongoing process and we continue to monitor. There does seem to be indications that male infertility problems similar to the father's may be inherited by male offspring.

Our Louisiana fertility clinic treats male infertility and we attract patients from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and the surrounding regions. Many couples choose our fertility practice because of our reputation for individualized and compassionate care coupled with outstanding male infertility treatment success rates.

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