Testis Needle Aspiration of Sperm in Men With Azoospermia

Needle aspiration of the epididymis causes rupture and irreversible damage to the duct. Recurring punctures and needle aspirations of fluid and tissue during Testicular Fine Needle Aspiration (TEFNA) procedure cause irreparable injury and loss of part of the testis' tubules. The hypothesis of this research is that production of sperm from the testis will be improved due to ultrasonically guided Rete Testis needle aspiration. In cases of Obstructive Azoospermia, the Rete Testis is expected to contain a large number of sperm cells. In cases of Non-Obstructive Azoospermia, the investigators can expect to produce sperm cells from aspiration of the Rete Testis, which drains all of the testis' tubules. Furthermore, catheterization of the Rete Testis will allow for the drainage of all testes tubules and for the production of sperm cells created locally in some of the tubules or in parts of them.

The potential advantage of needle aspiration from the Rete Testis is that the procedure will allow for the aspiration from all the testes tubules, as opposed to the standard method of sperm cells production from the testis which samples only some of the tubules. Therefore, it is expected that the procedure suggested in this research will be more efficient than the standard procedures currently in practice. An additional advantage to this procedure is that puncture and aspiration of the tubule network is not expected to block the drainage from the testis, as is the case in aspiration of the epididymis, and it is also not expected to damage the tubules, as is the case in TEFNA and in TESE.