In Vitro Fertilization/Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection for Male Infertility.
By Goral Gandhi (Indo Nippon
IVF) - Progress in the field of assisted reproduction, and particularly
micromanipulation, now heralds a new era in the management of severe male factor
infertility, not amenable to medical or surgical correction.
By overcoming natural
barriers to conception, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET),
subzonal sperm insemination, partial zona dissection, and intracytoplasmatic
injection of sperm (ICSI) now offer couples considered irreversibly infertile,
the option of parenting a genetically related child.
However, unlike IVF, which
necessitates an optimal sperm number and function to successfully complete the
sequence of events leading to fertilization, micromanipulation techniques, such
as ICSI, involving the direct injection of a spermatozoon into the oocyte,
obviate all these requirements and may be used to alleviate severe male factor
infertility due to the lack of sperm in the ejaculate due to severely impaired
spermatogenesis (non-obstructive azoospermia) or non-reconstructable
reproductive tract obstruction (obstructive azoospermia).
ICSI may be performed with fresh or
cryopreserved ejaculate sperm where available, microsurgically extracted
epididymal or testicular sperm with satisfactory fertilization, clinical
pregnancy, and ongoing pregnancy rates. However, despite a lack of consensus
regarding the genetic implications of ICSI or the application and efficacy of
preimplantation genetic diagnosis prior to assisted reproductive technology
(ART), the widespread use of ICSI, increasing evidence of the involvement of
genetic factors in male infertility and the potential risk of transmission of
genetic disorders to the offspring, generate major concerns with regard to the
safety of the technique, necessitating a thorough genetic evaluation of the
couple, classification of infertility and adequate counseling of the
implications and associated risks prior to embarking on the procedure.
The objective of this review
is to highlight the indications, advantages, limitations, outcomes,
implications and safety of using IVF/ICSI for male factor infertility to enable
a more judicious use of these techniques and maximize their potential benefits
while minimizing foreseen complications.
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