BIOPTY GUN TESTIS NEEDLE-BIOPSY - A PRELIMINARY CLINICAL-EXPERIENCE

Objective To assess the reliability, safety and patient satisfaction o f transcutaneous Biopty (Bard Urological, Covington, GA, USA) gun test is biopsies. Patients and methods Nineteen young men who were referred for evaluation of azoospermia were included in the study. The procedu re was performed in an outpatient setting, under local anaesthesia and without sedation. Two passes of the Biopty gun spring-loaded needle w ere performed unilaterally in each patient. Results An average of 38.9 seminiferous tubules were evaluable per patient. The procedure was ex tremely well-tolerated by all patients and most felt that the procedur e was no more distressing than simple phlebotomy. Conclusion Transcuta neous testis needle biopsy performed with the Biopty gun is safe, rapi d and cost-effective. This technique may represent a viable alternativ e to the open method of testis biopsy.