Assessment of Testicular Perfusion Prior to Sperm Extraction Predicts Success Rate and Decreases the Number of Required Biopsies in Patients With Non-Obstructive Azoospermia Publisher Pubmed



Nowroozi MR^{1, 2} ; Ayati M¹ ; Amini E¹ ; Radkhah K¹ ; Jamshidian H¹ ; Delpazir A¹ ; Ghasemi F¹ ; Rajabzadeh Kanafi A¹ Show Affiliations
Source: International Urology and Nephrology Published:2015

Abstract

Methods: One hundred and thirty consecutive patients with azoospermia were assessed in this prospective study. Based on a semiquantitative method, the results of power Doppler US were graded into three categories: grade 1, no visible vessels; grade 2, between one and three detectable vessels; grade 3, more than three detectable vessels. The location of each visible vessel was also recorded as upper, middle or lower third of the testis.; Objectives: To assess the role of power and color Doppler ultrasonography (US) in patients with azoospermia prior to testicular sperm extraction.; Results: Seventy-four patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and 27 with obstructive azoospermia (OA) fulfilled the study criteria. OA patients revealed a significantly higher intratesticular perfusion compared with NOA patients. NOA patients with higher intratesticular perfusion required fewer biopsies for successful sperm retrieval. Moreover, a correlation was noted between the presence of visible vessels in each segment and the probability of successful sperm retrieval during biopsy from the corresponding segment.; Conclusions: Our data indicate that a semiquantitative, simplified power Doppler US assessment is capable of localizing areas containing viable sperm with the potential to direct biopsies to specific sites and subsequent decrease in the number of required biopsies. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.