Thousands of couples each year will experience infertility. Estimates suggest that more than 15% of couples are infertile, meaning, that even with frequent, unprotected sexual intercourse, they are still not able to conceive a child. While many may assume that infertility lies with the woman, almost half of infertility cases involve the man.
Male infertility means that the man is not able to conceive a child. This may be because there is a low sperm production, a blockage, or the man has sperm that are essentially immobile. Illness, trauma, injury, acute and chronic health problems are often the blame and cause for male infertility. While the only primary symptom is not being able to produce a child, there are some other symptoms that might suggest infertility as well including a swelling of the testicles, delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction and signs of a chromosomal or hormonal abnormality.
If a man has a low sex drive, has been unable to conceive a child after a year of regular, unprotected sex, has ejaculation problems or sexual dysfunction and has a history of prostate, testicle, groin or other pelvic disorders, it becomes important to get a full physical to rule out any problems.
Treatment for male infertility is available. Some types of male infertility can be treated, while others cannot. Treatment for male infertility will ultimately depend on the cause. Once the underlying problem has been found, a course of treatment can be established. Surgery, for example, can be done for blockages. If an infection is causing the infertility, a blood test will reveal this and medication can be administered. Treatment for male infertility for sexual intercourse problems such as with impotence is available and may include counseling, erectile dysfunction medication and/or a penile implant or penile prosthesis.
For certain blockages, assisted reproductive therapy (ART) can be done. The most common ART treatment is in vitro fertilization. This producer takes the sperm from the man and eggs from the woman and combines them externally in a test lab; once the egg is fertilize, it is then placed inside the woman’s uterus.
In some cases, treatment is not an option and will not work. If a couple wants a child after receiving this information, they can begin looking into donor sperm banks as an option, or adoption.
For more information on male infertility and for male infertility treatment options, please contact North Dallas Urology Associates. To schedule an appointment at our Plano, Richardson and Frisco locations, call 972.612.8037. To schedule an appointment at our McKinney location, call 972.548.8195.