Male Infertility Diagnosis

Ifthe diagnosis hasn’t been established yet, the best thing you should do is to look for information about the infertility cause. If you know the diagnosis already try to find out as many information as you can about it because it is very important to understand what you are dealing with and what are your treatment options. Further on we present the most important diagnoses for male infertility with a couple of information about their causes, symptoms and treatment. (LEARN MORE)

1) Bilateral absence of the vas deferens. The tube that connects the place where the sperm is stored (epididymis) to the tube that releases the sperm called urethra represents the vas deferens. The sperm flows trough this vas, into urethra and outside the body through the penis. Men which don’t have vas deferens have a fertility problem because the sperm remain blocked in the testicles not being able to reach the urethra. This disease is congenital that is it exists at birth. The main symptom of this condition is the total absence of sperm in the semen. Another symptom is the inability to conceive. A surgical operation can’t resolve the absence of the vas deferens but there are other ways to extract the sperm from the body such as testicular biopsy or microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration. After the sperm are extracted an assisted reproductive treatment like IVF or ICSI should be taken into consideration.

2) Hyperprolactinemia represents the increased production of prolactin (the hormone that produces milk after pregnancy) which causes the suppress of ovulation. A high level of prolactin can cause sexual dysfunction on men. Hyperprolactinemia can be a symptom for hypothyroidism. Causes: disorders of the thyroid gland, high blood pressure medications, anti-nausea drugs, tumors on the pituitary glands, oral contraceptives.

Symptoms: visual disturbance, impotence, depression, fatigue.

Treatment: bromocriptine and surgery to remove tumors.

3) Azoospermia is the medical term used for a complete absence of sperm in the ejaculate. This disease is symptomatic of Klinefelter’s syndrome, a blockage in the vas deferens or a testicular disease. Azoospermia is tested with a semen analysis.

The treatment depends on the cause of the condition. If the cause is a blockage a surgical correction may be performed. To extract sperm for IVF or ICSI a testicular biopsy is done.

4) Klinefelter’s syndrome is a disease characterized by a low sperm count or the total absence of sperm. This disease is caused by a chromosomal disorder and it’s genetic that’s why a chromosomal test should be performed on embryos to see if they can deliver healthy children. The main cause of this condition is an extra X chromosome. The treatment consist in methods to extract the sperm from the man’s body and use it in a intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

5) Immunological infertility. The man’s body can react to it’s own sperm as if they were invading cells. Treatment for this condition includes antibiotics when the cause is a bacterial infection, steroids, in vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination, intratubal insemination.

6) Retrograde ejaculation. When the semen is ejaculated into the bladder and doesn’t exit the body through the penis as normally. This disease is caused by a malfunction of the valves that control the flow of semen or urine through the urethra. Sometimes the disease can be caused by diabetes or the removal of the prostate gland. To extract the semen from the man’s body the bladder is filled with a laboratory solution and after ejaculation this solution is extracted and the sperm are harvested. Causes: cancer, previous prostate surgery, diabetes, some medications like the ones used for treating high blood pressure or heart disease. The most obvious symptom of retrograde ejaculation is no ejaculation. The treatments of retrograde ejaculation is mainly assisted reproductive procedures like: in vitro fertilization, intracytoplsmic sperm injection.

7) Sperm problems : oligospermia (low sperm concentration), astenozoospermia (inability to swim), teratyozoospermia (misshape). Causes: hormonal imbalance, genetic causes, blockage of the vas deferens, diabetes, smoking, alcohol. A semen analysis can detect sperm problems. Treatment: IVF, drugs to induce ovulation, sperm donor.
8) Occlusion means the blockage of an organ, on woman it can be the fallopian tubes, on men the duct system. If the duct system is blocked the sperm can’t reach outside the body. Causes: STDs, vasectomies, hernias, congenital conditions.

The disease can be diagnosed with the help of a vasography, transrectal ultrasound. The treatment is called vasovasotomy and unblocks the vas deferens so that the sperm could travel trough the testicles outside the body.

9) Vasectomy reversal can cause sometime azzospermia, blockages or immunological problems especially if the vasectomy procedure wasn’t performed as it should have been.

There are two types of treatment: vasoepidymostomy and vasovasostomy. This procedures reconnect the vas deferens or stitch it onto epididymis.