A couple visited Xenith to consult about their fertility issue. They were trying to conceive since 4 years. Wife had mild polycystic ovarian disease and husband had severe OATS. Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) is a condition that includes oligozoospermia (low number of sperm), asthenozoospermia (poor sperm movement), and teratozoospermia (abnormal sperm shape). OAT is the commonest cause of male subfertility.
Couple had undergone ovulation monitoring multiple times and intra-uterine insemination (IUI) outside. Without a proper evaluation of the semen factor the couple had been going through a treatment which would not have resulted in pregnancy.
Therapeutic approach and results:
Both husband and wife were initially advised to undergo routine fertility tests. The repeat husband’s semen analysis revealed severe OATS. He had very few motile sperms. His medical history was checked, and physical, and blood tests were conducted to check the hormone levels which were normal.
The scrotal ultrasound performed revealed mild enlargement of the veins within the scrotum. His karyotype was also normal.
The Couple was counselled regarding the condition (OATS) and the treatment options suggested was IVF with ICSI using husband sperms obtained by testicular aspiration.
IVF cycle was initiated. Embryos were formed by the ICSI procedure. We secured adequate number of good quality embryos that were cryopreserved
Successful Treatment Outcome
A pregnancy test performed 15 days after embryo transfer was positive and a pregnancy scan in the 6th week of gestation revealed a viable singleton pregnancy.
Everything went well, as expected, during the pregnancy period, and the couple was blessed with their own biological child.
Discussion
Many couples still visit a Gynaecologist for fertility issues. Due to this many times a proper evaluation and understanding of the Male factor infertility causes is not looked into thus delaying the correct treatment for the couple. Male factor is responsible in nearly half the cases of infertility in couples today. Moreover, it is not just adequate to resort to IVF in cases of infertility, but to understand that the eggs or sperms that are being used are optimized in terms of their health and quality so that it can lead to healthy offspring. The Andrology or Male Infertility department at Xenith is one of the best and is equipped with advanced operating microscope for microsurgical sperm retrieval when required. We have treated several cases of Male factor infertility who have failed multiple cycles outside with successful outcomes.