Alloplastic spermatocele: poor sperm motility in intraoperative epididymal fluid contraindicates prosthesis...

After vasectomy reversal by vasovasostomy or vasoepididymostomy motile sperm appear commonly in the semen even when only nonmotile sperm are present in the intraoperative vasal or epididymal fluid. We studied patients with bilateral congenitally absent vasa deferentia to see if relief of obstruction by implantation of an alloplastic spermatocele also benefits sperm motility in such patients. A total of 130 alloplastic spermatoceles was implanted in 91 patients. Of 21 patients with only nonmotile sperm in the epididymal fluid intraoperatively only 1 had motile sperm in the postoperative aspirates from the alloplastic spermatocele. The quality of sperm motility in the intraoperative epididymal fluid was predictive of the quality of sperm motility in the postoperative aspirates. Conception postoperatively did not occur whenever less than 20 per cent of the intraoperative epididymal sperm was motile. Thus, poor or absent sperm motility in the epididymal fluid during planned alloplastic spermatocele implantation predicts a poor postoperative result and, therefore, contraindicates implantation of the prosthesis. Pregnancy, which occurred postoperatively in 7 of 91 wives, ended in spontaneous abortion in 3 and progressed to full-term delivery in 4.