Testicular Sperm Aspiration (TESA)

Testicular Sperm aspiration refers to the procedures used to obtain viable sperm from the male reproductive tract. This procedure is used to treat male inferterlity due to absence of or extremely few sperm in the male ejaculate (azoospermia).

TESA involves a needle biopsy of the testicle. This is done as an office procedure using local anesthesia. A small incision is made in the scrotal skin and then a spring loaded needle is gently inserted into the testicle. The amount of tissue obtained is low because the thin needle removes only a thin sliver of tissue.

The sperm that are collected are intended to be used with ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Insemination) because there are usually not enough sperm retrieved to perform intrauterine insemination.