Andrology

Andrology

About the Branch

Andrology mainly deals with issues related to male reproductive and sexual health. In our hospital, the andrology department works under the In-vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Reproductive Health Center.

Interests of andrology

  • Male infertility (Infertility)
  • Erection problems
  • Loss of sexual desire
  • Structure/shape disorders in the penis
  • Ejaculation disorders
  • Orgasm problems
  • Sexually transmitted diseases
  • Varicocele (varicose in testicles)
  • Prostate diseases
  • Aging male

Male Infertility

The inability of married couples to have a child despite having regular intercourse for 1 year without any birth control method is considered infertility. 10-15% of married couples consult a doctor because of infertility. When the causes in these couples are examined, it is understood that more than 50 percent of the problems are caused by men. Hormonal disorders, drugs used, diseases occurring in the reproductive organs, varicocele affecting sperm production in the testis, undescended testicles, chemicals, testicular inflammations, all kinds of health problems such as mumps, previous surgical interventions, chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer treatment, sexual intercourse are the leading causes of male infertility. Diseases can affect sperm production.

"Semen analysis", which will be done by couples who cannot have children after 3 to 5 days of sexual abstinence after regular and unprotected sexual intercourse, is the first examination that will enable them to determine the problem in men and to ensure that the couples receive the most appropriate treatment for infertility treatment without unnecessary time and economic loss.

In the treatment of infertility, the factors causing the problem should be determined first and treatment should be planned for the cause. In some cases, assisted reproductive techniques are used.

Intrauterine Insemination; Vaccination treatment, known as it is known, is a method applied to expectant mothers and fathers who have difficulty in conceiving a child spontaneously. It is the process of injecting the sperm taken from the man into the uterus through a catheter after undergoing some processes under laboratory conditions and washing. The purpose of this washing process is to increase sperm motility and thus the success of the procedure. It is a method applied in mild sperm disorders, in male candidates with insufficient sperm motility, in cases such as vaginismus where there is no normal sexual intercourse, and in those who cannot get pregnant with normal intercourse after egg follow-up. In order to use this method, there must be a certain number and motility of sperm, and there must be no problem in the tubes and uterus of the female candidate. In addition, it is a treatment method that can be recommended for couples whose Total Motile Sperm Count is between 5-15 million in the semen analysis.

Microinjection method; It is the method of transferring the developing embryo into the uterus after a single sperm obtained from the man is placed into a single egg (oocyte) obtained from the woman under the microscope. It is easily applied in all kinds of male and female infertility.

Obtaining Sperm in Assisted Reproductive Methods:

In male patients in whom assisted reproduction method will be applied, sperm are normally obtained from the ejaculate, or in some special cases, sperm can be obtained from the testis.

Sperm retrieval from testis is performed with two methods.

Microscopic Testicular Sperm Recovery (Micro TESE); In azoospermic men, whose sperm is not observed in the semen, the process of obtaining sperm in the testis with the surgical microscope is called Micro TeSe (Sperm Extraction from the Testis with Microscope). In this surgery performed under general anesthesia, sperm channels in the testicles are examined under the operating microscope at a magnification of x25 times, and full, wide-looking channels are found and sperm is searched for. The sperm retrieval rate with this method varies between 55-60%.

Testicular Sperm Aspiration (TESA); Sperm retrieval is a method in which sperm cells are obtained directly from the source, namely from the testicles (ovaries) or reproductive canals, for patients who cannot give samples due to obstruction of sperm ducts, erection problems) or for men who have failed in vitro fertilization due to sperm DNA damage. Sperm is obtained by aspiration method by entering the testicle with a thin needle under local anesthesia.