TESA is performed on men for retrieving sperms for ICSI.

It is carried out under local anesthesia. The doctor inserts a needle in the testicle and sperms are aspirated.

The doctors generally recommend TESA for two options – diagnostic; or therapeutic.

In diagnostic TESA, the doctors perform multiple biopsies to determine the presence of sperms in the testes.  If no sperm is detected after multiple tests, the diagnosis of azoospermia (absence of sperms in semen) is confirmed. The treatment option, in this case, includes donor insemination,

If healthy sperms are found during TESA, they can be cryopreserved; and can be used for ICSI treatment.

What to expect during the TESA procedure?

During TESA, under local anesthesia, the doctor suction out the testicular tissue using a fine needle. The retrieved testicular tissue is sent to the laboratory. The tissue is processed in the laboratory and is evaluated for the presence of healthy sperms. These healthy sperms can be used during ICSI.

Sperms retrieved during the TESA procedure are less mature and less motile.

Therefore, Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is required to carry out fertilization with TESA sperm.

Is there any potential risk of TESA?

Though TESA is a very safe procedure, still there are some risk factors associated with it.

These possible risks include:

• Bleeding
• Inability to find sperm
• Testicle infections
• Skin infection
• Testicle damage