Fathering Children after Prostate Removal? Ask the Expert
by Jay Motola, M.D. Health ProfessionalDear Dr. Motola,** I am looking for information on fertility after prostate removal. I cannot find any-no statistics, nothing. I am a 37-year-old female involved with a 62-year-old man. He is under the impression he can still have children after prostate removal, and would like to. Any information would be appreciated-statistics, details on sperm aspiration procedures, and whether or not it can be artificial insemination verses IVF.**
After a radical prostatectomy it is no longer possible to father a child through sexual intercourse as the removal of the seminal vesicles and the ampullary portion of the vas deferens occurs, making it impossible to pass ejaculatory fluids. If radical prostatectomy has not yet been performed, than sperm banking should be considered pre-operatively. This is a safe method to obtain and store sperm that would be used later on.
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) involves a procedure in which a biopsy specimen of the testicle is obtained under local anesthesia (TESE-testicular sperm extraction). Microscopic epididymal sperm aspiration can also result in high quality sperm. From this specimen sperm are extracted and directly inserted microscopically into the ovum. These techniques are associated with an approximately 40-45% success rate. In order to facilitate this it would be best to contact a urologist in your community who subspecializes in male infertility.
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