Does testicular puncture and sperm retrieval hurt? What should I pay attention to?

Some men may be unable to collect sperm by themselves due to some factors. In this case, they need to use medical equipment to help collect sperm. Testicular puncture is a common method of collecting sperm in clinical practice. Many men want to know: Is testicular puncture painful? Is there anything to pay attention to when collecting sperm? Let's take a look.

1. Does testicular puncture and sperm extraction hurt?

Many friends who have done testicular puncture and sperm retrieval reported that testicular puncture and sperm retrieval will be a little painful, but it is bearable. Usually, anesthesia will be given, general anesthesia or local anesthesia. The whole process only takes a few minutes. As for how many times testicular puncture needs to be done, it depends on the quality of sperm. If the sperm quality is good, it can be done once before the implementation of IVF. After the sperm is collected, it is frozen, and then the sperm is thawed after the IVF egg retrieval to cultivate fertilization. Some need to do it twice, once for sperm testing before the implementation of IVF, and once for sperm collection during IVF egg retrieval.

For patients suspected of obstructive azoospermia and ejaculation disorders, the local epididymis skin is disinfected and, after local anesthesia, the epididymis is punctured percutaneously with a 5 ml syringe to extract and absorb testicular fluid, or the epididymis is cut open with a microsurgical procedure to look for sperm. If active sperm is found, the diagnosis is confirmed and the sperm extracted can be used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection to obtain legitimate children of one's own.

If no sperm is found in epididymal puncture, or the epididymis has been damaged (such as due to tuberculosis or trauma), or there is a suspected sperm disorder, that is, non-obstructive azoospermia (such patients may have sperm in a certain part of the testis), then a testicular biopsy can be performed, that is, testicular sperm extraction. That is, sperm is directly obtained from the testis by suction or minor surgical procedures, and then IVF treatment is performed. Sometimes, multiple or bilateral epididymal testicular puncture biopsies may be required to find sperm, or sperm with better motility, in the epididymis or testicular puncture biopsy tissue.

2. Procedure for epididymal (testicular) puncture and biopsy to obtain sperm:

Use a puncture needle and syringe. After routine skin disinfection and anesthesia, puncture the needle through the scrotal skin into the testicle, pull out the needle core, aspirate the syringe to obtain a small amount of testicular tissue, then remove the puncture needle, bandage the puncture site, and send the testicular tissue for examination.

3. Precautions for epididymal (testicular) puncture and biopsy to obtain sperm:

Testicular puncture is a one-time extraction of testicular tissue to examine whether the testicles have spermatogenic function. Do not engage in strenuous exercise or have sexual intercourse within one week after the puncture.

4. Side effects of epididymal (testicular) puncture and sperm biopsy:

The main side effects are local discomfort, excessive bleeding, hematoma, infection, etc. that may occur in a small number of patients, which can generally be improved with timely treatment.