Sperm aspiration procedure

Fri Nov 09, 2012 4:07 pm

DH had his sperm aspiration procedure yesterday morning. It was supposed to be just a few pokes with a needle while they extracted sperm from his epididymis (the coiled tubes at the top of the testicle). They gave him a local anesthetic, but the doctor said that is a hard area to freeze since there are nerves that go directly to the spine.

They let me sit in the same room while they were doing the procedure. There was a 2nd doctor with a microscope who looked at the fluid the 1st doctor was removing, and she kept saying "no sperm". So the doctor ended up poking him with the needle many times because he kept trying, and he was really digging around in there. I could tell from DH's face that he was in a lot of discomfort and he was getting upset by the "no sperm". The doctor ended up taking a small slice of testicle that they would go through later in the lab to look for sperm.

It was an hour and a half drive back home and DH felt horrible. Not only was there discomfort in the area, he had a horrible feeling in his stomach that he said guys get when they've been hit in the privates. He had that feeling for another couple hours and then it went away and he was just sore, thank goodness.

We just got the lab results this morning - it was a very low number of sperm that they got. He said they got 50-60 sperm from the testicular tissue, but most were non-motile. They were only able to get 12 motile sperm and there are no guarantees those will survive freezing. The doctor recommends that we go ahead with the IVF cycle, but have donor backup in place. DH and i have already discussed donor sperm and we are both okay with it, so that is probably what we will do.

Me 39, DH 37
TTC #1 since Aug 2011
IVF Feb 2013 - no eggs retrieved.
1st IUI scheduled for May 2013

Sat Nov 10, 2012 1:58 am

that sounds like a very uncomfortable procedure. I am sorry to hear the results were disappointing.

I so wish you all the best with your upcoming IVF cycle.

Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:18 pm

Oh I was squrimming in my chair as I was reading what he went through. Owie!!!!!! Good luck and I hope that you are posting some really good new very soon.

♥♥Hilary♥♥
Make a pregnancy ticker

Tue Nov 13, 2012 12:52 am

He was very brave and sounds like a really wonderful man that he endured so much for this. I am proud of him! I will pray that the few they got from him are all they need. What an additional blessing that would be after all you both have gone through!

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