Before turning to surgical options, a patient should undergo an advanced sperm search. This search goes beyond a standard semen analysis, providing a meticulous examination of the sample’s entirety in order to find any viable sperm. If found, these sperm, however few, can then be used to fertilize eggs in the IVF procedure.
These searches emphasize attention to detail, patience, and a high level of expertise. They utilize high powered microscopes (x6,000) and can last many hours. The semen sample is filtered in a way which segregates the relevant parts that may contain sperm, ensuring that the entire sample is efficiently examined.
Advanced sperm searches have successfully spared patients from surgical sperm retrieval procedures, with their success rate currently standing at 20%. When successful, the recovered sperm cells can then be frozen for IVF.
Even if sperm is not found, it is entirely possible that a further search will be successful, at a different time. This is because the sperm production process is dynamic, as the cells take 3 months to fully mature, and the potential for successful sperm production can occur at any moment.