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Original poster

Surgical sperm retrieval.

19 replies

mabel92 · 21/01/2020 15:43

Has anyone’s partner gone through this for ICSI? How was it? My husbands 2nd sperm analysis was as awful as the first (they found one sperm!) so we think this will be the route we have to go down. We have conceived very quickly before so we are completely baffled and he is very upset. Thanks.

OP posts:
Crumpets124 · 21/01/2020 16:04

My DH is getting it done for our next round so that will be early march. I’ll report back if you’re not already started your round.

I was worried about it but my consultant said it’s only as invasive as egg collection and women go through that without even thinking about it.

NRW39 · 21/01/2020 16:35

Hi @mabel92

My partner has non- obstructive azoospermia, which basically means he has no sperm in his ejaculate.

He does however have sperm in his testicles. He went through a procedure in 2018 called MicroTese, which is a sophisticated sperm retrieval surgery.

5 ampules of sperm were successfully retrieved from my partner- which was an amazing result.

It was day surgery. He was put to sleep for it. Recovery was about 2 weeks. He had to wear a thong like shield to support 'his bits'. He was in pain after the procedure and Strong pain killers were provided. He was a bit of a nightmare after but I guess it wasn't a pleasant thing to go through and he has zero pain threshold!!

We've had various outcomes- 2 failures and 2 miscarriages. We are waiting to start our next cycle, which will be an FET.

All the best Star

Original poster
mabel92 · 21/01/2020 16:56

Best of luck @Crumpets124! I truly hope it goes your way.

@NRW39 that’s great about the amount of sperm, although I’m sorry about the failed attempts and miscarriages. May I ask if you both have fertility issues or is it just your partner? Have you gone NHS or private?
It’s all so daunting, we are still quite in shock and are coming round to the idea that it will be a long road!

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NRW39 · 21/01/2020 17:14

@NRW39
Male factor obly. TTC for 2 years. I turned 40 last year, so my egg age is a factor now...

We didn't qualify for NHS, so we are self funded. Cost is eye watering, but I try not to think about it. We've whacked it all on credit cards.

justbeingelle · 21/01/2020 17:19

We're on the waiting list for ICSI and been told my husband will need the same, so following with interest.

gracepoolesrum · 21/01/2020 17:20

My dp had this, he has obstructive azoospermia so the sperm in his testicles is fine. Has your dp had an injury or operation around the groin? They think dp's was caused by hernia repair.

The operation was very straightforward, easier than NRW49 above, just a couple of days recovery. although psychologically it was hard on dp, the idea of someone going at his testicles with a knife freaked him out and he needed a lot of reassurance. Our 2nd round of IVF was successful though so no regrets.

Original poster
mabel92 · 21/01/2020 17:48

Wishing you all the luck @NRW39! We are currently going down the private route but also just got referred for NHS which is an 8 week wait (not too bad) so we are hoping to try NHS first but it will just be which avenue we feel most comfortable with.

Good luck @justbeingelle I hope the wait isn’t too long!

@gracepoolesrum congratulations! Did you know straight away he would need surgery? We are just waiting for results from genetic tests. It’s a lot of waiting! I’ve just been told I’ll be having a frozen cycle because I’m a Hugh risk of getting OHSS. Did you have this? Thank you for all your stories!

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jodesxx · 21/01/2020 19:37

My partner had surgical sperm retrieval in November. He had it via PESA under sedation. We paid privately as it was about a one year wait in our area as there was only one consultant and he broke his arm!

He has azoospermia (not sure what type) but it's due to him being CF carrier and has no vas defrines

The lead up he was terrified and it was the not knowing as there was no guarantee they would get anything and we didn't know which route. Reassurance helped but was a stressful time beforehand.

Procedure went really well (30-45 mins). The first 24 hours he was bad and in a lot of pain. I'd say after a week he was fully recovered - tight boxers helped!

Good luck!!!

gracepoolesrum · 21/01/2020 20:12

Yes his ordinary sperm count was zero so we knew surgery was the only route, it was a bit stressful as we didn't know if the retrieved sample would be normal, thankfully it was. We didn't have genetic testing, this was NHS and it just wasn't offered. I did get ohss in our first cycle! It was really unpleasant and I wish they had done a frozen cycle, they decided it wasn't too severe and went ahead with transfer but I'll always wonder if it contributes to the cycle failure. For our second cycle we were private and they gave me medication to reduce the risk of ohss and I didn't develop it, that was our successful cycle. Good luck!

Crumpets124 · 21/01/2020 20:26

For those whose husbands have had it done did they have any side effects (aside from pain) our first consultant said she wouldn’t do it as it can cause erectile dysfunction but our new consultant said it was fine to do And that he does it lots in their clinic.

Original poster
mabel92 · 21/01/2020 20:56

Glad your second cycle went well @gracepoolesrum congratulations! Can I ask how long the ICSI took from start to finish? Sorry for all the questions!

@jodesxx hi! That’s what we are terrified about - if they don’t get Sperm! We are so confused how his sperm count has gone from ‘enough to convince quickly’ to one sperm so there probably is a chance he has none! Did you manage to use the sperm found?

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Willow4987 · 21/01/2020 21:02

Hi Op! I’ve got no advice r.e. Sperm retrieval however just a side note about NHS vs private...

In our area, NHS and private is carried out by the same private clinics so essentially you’re getting the same facilities but the NHS pays for it. If your wait time is low for the NHS then this might be a route to consider and save any pennies for further rounds (if you needed it obviously!)

Softscoop35 · 21/01/2020 21:16

My husband has had 3 done. 🤭

The first 2 he had were both an injection into his testes. Recovered after a week or 2, everything went purple and had to wear a jock strap for a while. We got our DS from the 2nd SSR.
His 3rd SSR they opened his testes up and got a sample from there. Took a while longer to recover. Still trying for a sibling. X

Softscoop35 · 21/01/2020 21:16

Oh, he has bad no problems in rising to an occasion either

Rd12 · 21/01/2020 22:01

My partner has had this done twice. They tried with a needle and as none were found they had to slice. He was very nervous in the run up and had read about how painful it is. But he found it was no where near as bad as he had expected. He had to take it easy for a long while though.

We didn't get any information from the NHS about quality or quantity. We had the sperm frozen and only 2 were useable when thawed. Our cycle was unsuccessful

Something to note - he had the same procedure on the day in the other testicle and no sperm was found at all. Apparently it can be found in pockets

If he can get in to see a proper Urologist I would highly recommend it. We have since paid to see a specialist and have been given a lot more information and advice. The doctor told us that we could have been referred by the NHS for free

jodesxx · 21/01/2020 22:09

@mabel92 we are still waiting. It's been transferred to the nhs clinic now. Have our treatment planning tomorrow and hoping to start end of feb.

Fingers crossed they can get it. I know there's a couple of methods they try. Not waiting and paying privately was the best thing we could do. It was just over £1K and was literally all done from appointment to op in 3 weeks.

Original poster
mabel92 · 22/01/2020 09:11

@jodesxx yeah, we have decided to go private and have a consultation on the 20th February when hubby’s blood results will be back. Good luck with your treatment, wishing you all the best.

@Willow4987 thank you! Yeah we have started down the NHS route as well, I’ve got an appointment tomorrow for blood etc.

@Softscoop35 3, wow good for him and I’m glad to hear you got your son from it, congratulations and good luck with no 2!

@Rd12 thanks for the advice. That’s good to hear the procedure isn’t too painful! We have booked in to see a Urologist in February so hopefully we will get some answers, the medical staff are baffled he has obviously gone from having an okay amount (enough to conceive) to only one found in his last sample, I’m quite scared.

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gracepoolesrum · 22/01/2020 12:22

I second going private, it took the best part of a year to get the op done, the waiting list was very long (in fact much longer than the waiting list for IVF which happened quite quickly once they had retrieved the sperm). If you're private it won't be more than a few weeks for a whole cycle I'd imagine.

Original poster
mabel92 · 23/01/2020 07:46

Yeah, we are definitely going private. Did you all start your cycle day 21?

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