If a man’s sperm contains no or very few sperm cells, it is possible to extract them directly from the testicular tissue (Testicular Sperm Extraction, TESE) for use in fertility treatment.
For the so-called TESE, we obtain tissue from the testicle via a testicular biopsy performed as an outpatient procedure under general anaesthesia. The tissue is then deep-frozen using a specialised technique (cryopreservation). On the day of the follicle puncture, the testicular sample is thawed, the sperm cells are extracted and prepared. A reproductive biologist then selects a functional sperm cell and injects it directly into the egg cell under a microscope using Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).
The combination of testicular biopsy and TESE with ICSI is also an option following male sterilisation (vasectomy), tumour surgeries, inoperable blockages of the vas deferens, or in cases where ejaculation is entirely absent, for example, due to spinal cord injury.