DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW ALLOPLASTIC SPERMATOCELE DEMONSTRATING SUCCESSFUL SPERM RETRIEVAL IN AN ANIMAL-MODEL

Objective: To create an alloplastic spermatocele capable of repeated s perm aspiration. The alloplastic spermatocele has long been a theoreti cal solution to infertility for those patients with congenital absence of the vas deferens or irreversible obstruction of the male reproduct ive ductal system. Recent studies have suggested that sperm from effer ent ducts are capable of fertilization. Clinical use of alloplastic sp ermatoceles for collection of epididymal sperm has resulted in unaccep tably low pregnancy rates. Improvement in spermatocele function may oc cur if a microsurgical anastomosis is performed to the epididymis. Des ign: A newly designed alloplastic spermatocele was implanted in 17 mat ure male rabbits. The faceplate of the device had a 0.7-mm orifice, al lowing direct precise microsurgical anastomosis to a specific loop of the epididymal tubule. Results: Sperm retrieval was possible in 16/17 (94%) animals. Repeated successful aspirations (total of 73) were perf ormed in all but one animal. The total number of sperm collected per s permatocele averaged 115 x 10(6) (range 0 to 734 x 10(6)). The sperm m otility varied widely between animals and specimens, with a maximum av erage of 21.6% motile sperm/aspirate per animal. All spermatoceles eve ntually occluded (mean time of occlusion 14 days; range 3 to 30 days). The prostheses with the attached epididymides were examined histologi cally. Conclusions: This prototype alloplastic spermatocele allows rep eated high density sperm retrieval over a short period of time. Low sp erm motility may be less problematic clinically as new techniques of I VF become available.