Cryo-TESE

Intracytoplasmic injection of sperm (ICSI) extracted from testicular tissue (TESE) represents the only possibility for men with nonobstructive azoospe rmia to father a child. ICSI is also the on ly treatment for men with obstr uctive azoospermia if microsurgery is not possible or not successful. Howev er, approximately only every fifth treatment cycle leads to a pregnancy. Th us, in most cases, several treatment cycles have to be performed to achieve a pregnancy and therefore testicular biopsies have to be taken several tim es. Cryopreservation of testicular tissue offers the possibility to store t esticular tissue for several treatment cycles of in vitro fertilization (IV F) and to detach surgical sperm retrieval in the man and infertility treatm ent in the woman (ovarian stimulation, ovum pickup, embryo transfer). For t he man, cryopreservation offers the advantage that only one testicular biop sy has to be performed for diagnostic reasons and for sperm retrieval. The advantage for the women is that infertility treatment is started only if te sticular histology confirms spermatids, at least in the testicular tissue. The cumulative pregnancy rate of IVF/ICSI/TESE-cycles can be increased by c ryopreservation of supernumerary pronuclear stage oocytes and embryo transf er after thawing in successive cycles.