MICRO TESE – TESTICULAR SPERM EXTRACTION
What is Micro TESE?
Micro Surgical Testicular Sperm Extraction or Micro TESE is a procedure wherein surgical sperm retrieval is done with the help of microscope.
How is it done?
MICRO TESE is usually performed under either General Anaesthesia or local Anaesthetic block. In this procedure, an incision is made in the skin and the testicular tissue is viewed under magnification. The tubules containing sperms are usually seen as being swollen up or dilated. These tubules are selectively sampled for presence of sperms and these sperms are used for IVF ICSI.
What are the advantages of performing Micro-TESE over TESA or PESA?
The advantage of MICRO TESE over other methods of surgical sperm retrieval is that if sperms are present in small pockets, and not throughout the entire testes, there are better chances that these sperms will be retrieved by MICRO TESE as the procedure is done under direct microscopic vison. In TESA / PESA etc, sperms are sampled blindly and more likely to be missed if only present scantily in some areas. Therefore in Non Obstructive Azoospermia, MICRO TESE offers better chances of success than PESA or TESA.
What are the disadvantages?
The only disadvantage of MICRO TESE is that it is slightly more invasive and a stitch needs to be applied. This is only temporary and the procedure does not leave behind any permanent scarring or pain.