Dubai
New technique comes to the rescue
Lilly and Phillip Williams (name changed), could not start a family for eight years. “Upon examining the husband, I discovered that his Epidedymis (a long tube that carries the sperm out from the testes) had a swelling, indicating an infection. He suffered from azoospermia (no sperm) as this tube was blocked. I carried out a small surgery I pioneered in 1994 called Percutaneous Epidedymis Sperm Aspiration (Pesa) where under local anaesthesia, the sperm is aspirated out through the tube and frozen for fertilisation,” explained Dr Pankaj Shrivastava, of Conceive Clinic in Dubai.
Dr Shrivastava said he was able to collect high-quality sperm which was later used to fertilise Williams’ wife’s eggs using Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), an advanced In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) method. “The couple are now expecting twins by early next year.”
Heavy smoking impairs function
Parvez Mohammad (name changed), 38, a Pakistani national from Ras Al Khaimah, came to the clinic with suspected infertility issues. “He used to smoke about 40 cigarettes a day,” said Dr Shrivastava.
“Mohammad and his wife Shakeela (name changed) were asked to undergo tests.
“The wife suffered from polycystic ovaries and the husband suffered from an inability to secrete sperm due to the trauma of smoking.
“We asked him to completely stop smoking for some time. After a few months, we carried out Testicular Sperm Aspiration where we extracted a tissue of his testes to extract the sperm which was used to fertilise his wife’s eggs.
The couple is now expecting a child after 11 years. We were able to freeze 15 of his wife’s eggs and also freeze the testicular tissue with the sperm for future conceptions,” said Dr Shrivastava, who feels that these techniques have made the impossible possible for couples who have lost hope. “It is important for the man to accept and own up to any infertility problem he might be suffering from, only then can the couple be helped to start a family,” said Dr Shrivastava.
Post-cancer hope
Patient A had suffered from cancer at a very young age and had undergone bone marrow transplant while in his teens. In later years, he was diagnosed with azoospermia at the Bourn Hall Fertility Centre. He underwent a surgical treatment called Micro Testicular Sperm Extraction (micro-TESE). The complicated procedure entails extracting testicular tubules containing sperms from the patient, and from that choosing the most viable sperm for Intra Cyctoplasmic Injection ICSI treatment. The procedure was successful, and the patient is now father to a healthy baby boy.
