When the male has no sperm in his ejaculate, depending on the causes, viable sperm may be obtained directly from the testicles or surrounding ducts. This requires an operation under general anaesthetic and will be fully discussed with you by the surgeon who will carry out this procedure.
MicroTESE is only available in a few selected centres such as the Edinburgh Fertility Centre.
Surgical sperm retrieval (SSR) involves extracting sperm from the male genital tract (the testis or epididymis) to use for assisted reproductive techniques (ART)
The actual technique used depends on the nature and site of the underlying infertility problem
Techniques range from simple needle aspiration of the epididymis (PESA) or testis (TESA) through the scrotal skin, to the more
advanced microsurgical sperm extraction from the testicle (microTESE)
