S. Marina et al., Triplet pregnancy achieved through intracytoplasmic sperm injection with spermatozoa obtained by prostatic massage of a paraplegic patient, HUM REPR, 14(6), 1999, pp. 1546-1548
Spinal cord-injured men with ejaculation disorders can have children thanks
to assisted reproduction techniques. Spermatozoa from these patients are u
sually obtained through vibratory stimulation, electroejaculation or by pun
cturing the seminal duct or the testicle. We present the first published ca
se, as far as we are aware, of spermatozoa obtained through prostatic massa
ge of a paraplegic patient. Penile vibratory stimulation was unsuccessful i
n this patient. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) with intracytoplasmic sperm in
jection (ICSI) with spermatozoa obtained through electroejaculation was per
formed at another centre but pregnancy was not achieved. Through prostatic
massage, we obtained a total semen volume of 6 ml containing a total count
of 12.32x10(6) spermatozoa (6.24x10(6) with tails), 8% of which had motilit
y (graded + and + +); and 16% of which had normal morphology, The spermatoz
oa obtained were then used to perform IVF with ICSI and a triplet pregnancy
was achieved. Prostatic massage appears to be an easy, non-traumatic and r
isk-free method to obtain spermatozoa from paraplegic patients.