Male Infertility Treatment
Male Infertility Treatment
Disorders of sperm quality range from a low count or motility to a complete absence of sperm production. Deformities of the sperm cell shape (morphology) are important because they reflect its ability to fertilize the egg. Mild abnormalities of semen parameters can be effectively treated using techniques that “wash” away the seminal fluid to improve the concentration and selecting/isolating the normally-shaped motile sperm from the abnormal ones. This elite group of sperm can then be transferred to the uterus via an intrauterine insemination (IUI). However, for more severe degrees of male factor infertility, this treatment is inadequate. With a total motile cell concentration of less than 10 million cells per ml or a normal morphology of less than 4% “normal” by strict Kruger criteria, the chance of fertilization failure is very high, even with IVF.
More targeted treatments for male infertility are based on its cause and/or severity:
- Hormonal therapy
- Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
- Testicular sperm extraction (TESE)
- Non-hormonal drug therapy (bromocryptine, antibiotics)
- Surgery (varicocelectomy, vasectomy reversal, surgical treatment of undescended testes, etc.)
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