Male infertility treatment is available to help infertile men produce children. There are numerous non-surgical and surgical treatments available. Some of the non-surgical treatments are hormone deficiency treatments, Clomiphene citrate for infertility, electro ejaculation therapy and spinal cord injury treatments. Surgical procedures like varicocele ligation, sperm retrieval through MESA, TESE or PESA, vasectomy reversal and transurethral resection of ejaculatory duct are performed. Apart from these, there are assisted reproductive technologies like ICSI and IVF to help infertile men. Like any other medical procedures, there are certain risks associated with these infertility treatments.
Physical Risks
There are various types of physical risks that the patient faces, depending on the type of treatment undergone.
- Vasectomy Reversal – as the reversal procedure takes long time to be completed, it can lead to bleeding and blood-related infection. Sometimes blood can get accumulated under the skin resulting in a bruised or swollen penis. Body pain and aches, allergic reactions and numbness can occur as a result of anesthesia.
- Varicocele surgery can also lead to some minor problems like itching, pain, bleeding and swelling. Sometimes, fluid get accumulated around testicles, and this situation is known as hydrocele. The excess fluid has to be drained out.
- Electro ejaculation of sperm can result in minor burning of rectum if the probe used to retrieve sperms gets overheated. Men with injuries of spinal cord are prone to develop extremely high blood pressure due to this, and hence are given medication to control the blood pressure beforehand.
- Transurethral resection of ejaculatory duct may result in the burning sensation while urinating, bladder irritability, urgency or incontinence. Post operation patients may pass blood in urine which subsides over 3 to 5 days.
- Men who undergo ART for conceiving a child do not face lot of risks, except minor things. They may suffer from bleeding, infection or damage to the testes if they undergo a procedure for sperm retrieval.
Emotional Risks
Men who undergo male infertility treatments are subjected to lots of emotional risks. Though there are many treatments available, usually several months to years of treatment has to be taken consistently in order to achieve normal fertility. This may cause a lot of emotional stress in men due to the changes in their normal routine, diet and other daily activities. So, it is important to take necessary counseling if the situation becomes very emotionally draining.
ART methods involve lots of time, money and energy from the couples undergoing it, and at the same time, the success rate of ART or any infertility treatment is not 100%. All these factors can cause lots of worries about the outcome of the treatment in the men. They become prone to depression, frustration and anger thinking about the negative outcomes.
There are some reports that show a higher rate of congenital or chromosomal abnormalities in children born out of ART methods. This causes anxiety in the patient, who can suffer from depression and mood swings while thinking about the well-being of the unborn baby.
Like any medical corrective treatment, these male infertility treatments also involve many risks. Hence, it is important for the patient to prepare himself to face the consequences before opting for any treatment method.
