The treatment of obstructive azoospermia in male infertility--past, present, and future

Until recently, the primary treatment option for infertile men with obstructive azoospermia was the reconstruction of the male seminal tract when the causes of obstruction were reconstructable. For unreconstructable causes, such as congenital absence of the vas deferens, the primary treatment option involved implantation of an alloplastic artificial spermatocele for subsequent percutaneous retrieval of sperm. Retrieved sperm was then used for intrauterine insemination. The introduction of in vitro fertilization (IVF), performed together with microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA), provided new frontiers for the treatment of unreconstructable obstructive azoospermic infertility in men. Against this background, the author reviewed the past and present status of the treatment of obstructive male infertility for the purpose of seeking a future course for the treatment of obstructive azoospermia. At the Andrology Clinic, 246 (26%) of 963 infertile males revealed azoospermia and 72 (29%) of these 246 patients showed obstruction at the seminal tract, showing that 7.5% of male infertility cases were caused by ductal obstruction. Microsurgical reconstruction of the seminal tract was performed, including vasovasostomy (29 cases), epididymovasostomy (18 cases), and artificial spermatocele implantation (20 cases). Vasovasostomy resulted in an 81.3% patency rate and a 37.5% fertility rate. Epididymovasostomy showed a 71% patency rate and a 29% fertility rate. In contrast, artificial spermatocele implantation resulted in positive sperm present in the aspirated fluid in 33.3% of the patients; however, no pregnancy was achieved by artificial insemination using aspirated sperm. MESA together with assisted reproductive technology (ART) in 14 patients showed 79% ovum fertilization rates and a 35.7% clinical pregnancy rate. Thus, this new technique could open new frontiers for the future treatment of obstruction of the male seminal tract which cannot be reconstructed by vasovasostomy or vasoepididymostomy.