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Predictive factors of successful sperm retrieval on microdissection testicular sperm extraction in Japanese men

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Reproductive Medicine and Biology

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate retrospectively the outcomes of microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) in men with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) and to identify the parameters predicting successful sperm retrieval in this cohort of patients.

Methods

After excluding patients with normal testicular volume and serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level who received conventional TESE, this study included 329 consecutive NOA patients undergoing micro-TESE at our institution. The significance of several factors, including age, testicular volume, etiology and serum levels of FSH, luteinizing hormone (LH) and serum testosterone (T), as predictors of successful sperm retrieval, was evaluated.

Results

Of the 329 men included in this series, 246 (74.8 %), 40 (12.2 %), and 43 (13.1 %) were pathologically diagnosed with Sertoli cell only, maturation arrest, and hypospermatogenesis, respectively. Spermatozoa were retrieved in 97 (29.5 %) of these 329 men by micro-TESE. Older age and non-idiopathic etiology were significantly associated with the probability of successful sperm retrieval; however, there were no significant effects of testicular volume as well as serum levels of FSH, LH, and T on sperm retrieval outcome. Furthermore, Johnsen score of the micro-TESE specimen showed a significant association with whether spermatozoa were successfully retrieved. Univariate analysis of preoperative parameters identified older age and non-idiopathic etiology as significant predictors of successful sperm retrieval, of which only etiology appeared to be independently related to successful sperm retrieval on multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

Spermatozoa are significantly less likely to be successfully retrieved by micro-TESE in men with idiopathic azoospermia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Urology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0017, Japan

    Noritoshi Enatsu, Hideaki Miyake, Koji Chiba & Masato Fujisawa

Authors
  1. Noritoshi Enatsu
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  2. Hideaki Miyake
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  3. Koji Chiba
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  4. Masato Fujisawa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Noritoshi Enatsu.

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Conflict of interest

Noritoshi Enatsu, Hideaki Miyake, Koji Chiba and Masato Fujisawa declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human right statements and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional ethical committee and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and its later amendments. Written informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in this study.

Animal studies

This article does not contain any studies with animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Enatsu, N., Miyake, H., Chiba, K. et al. Predictive factors of successful sperm retrieval on microdissection testicular sperm extraction in Japanese men. Reprod Med Biol 15, 29–33 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12522-015-0212-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12522-015-0212-x

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