CONSERVATIVE AND SURGICAL SEMEN RETRIEVAL IN PATIENTS WITH SPINAL-CORD INJURY

Assisted semen retrieval was applied in 219 men with spinal cord injur y (212 supranuclear, seven infranuclear lesions). Vibrostimulation in supranuclear lesions was successful in 133, and in five more after phy sostigmine injection. Electroejaculation was successful in all seven i nfranuclear lesions and in four supranuclear patients failing with vib rostimulation. Eight more supranuclear patients responded to electroej aculation and physostigmine. Surgical retrieval was applied in 27 pati ents. Nine Wagenknecht spermatoceles showed only one success, from all 18 implanted Brindley, reservoirs semen could be collected. Three pat ients, in whom no pregnancy could be induced after Brindley reservoir implantation, had testicular sperm aspirated. In 109 patients who want ed to have offspring, 73 pregnancies could be induced in 46 couples, l eading to 54 births (four twins), 16 abortions and three pregnancies. Conservative semen retrieval was possible in 82 of these men (63 pregn ancies in 37 couples) and surgical methods were used in 27 (10 pregnan cies in nine couples).