A COMPARISON BETWEEN OPEN AND PERCUTANEOUS NEEDLE BIOPSIES IN MEN WITH AZOOSPERMIA

Open testicular biopsy is a classic method of investigation in men wit h azoospermia, Recently, percutaneous needle biopsy of the testis has been used in attempts to obtain material for histopathological diagnos is in such cases and to retrieve spermatozoa for intracytoplasmic sper m injection (ICSI), To determine whether a 19 gauge (G) and a 21G butt erfly needle could be used for percutaneous aspiration of testicular t issue to determine the presence of mature spermatids and assess sperma togenesis, 10 patients (16 testes) and 12 patients (17 testes) underwe nt 19G or 21G needle biopsy respectively, immediately followed by open testicular biopsy, with both procedures under local anaesthesia, Biop sy with each needle size was compared with open biopsy. With the 19G n eedle, in the 14 cases where material was obtained there was full agre ement with open biopsy regarding the presence or absence of mature spe rmatozoa, whereas with the 21G needle only nine of the 13 biopsies yie lding material were predictive in this respect. Each needle size corre lated poorly with open biopsy regarding evaluation of spermatogenesis, We conclude that percutaneous biopsy with a 19G butterfly needle is a quick and reliable method for demonstrating spermatozoa for ICSI, But for a detailed histopathological diagnosis, however, the needle biops ies gave poor results, whereas the material from the open testicular b iopsies was assessable.