Men's fear in infertility clinic

Hanoi Receiving the results of infertility due to no sperm, Mr. Dung was shocked and asked his wife to take their first child for a DNA test immediately.

Dr. Cao Tuan Anh, Center for Reproductive Support, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi (IVF Tam Anh), on December 28 shared the unforgettable reaction of this patient when he received the news of infertility. The first daughter is 5 years old, Mr. Dung and his wife planned to have another child but after two years without results, they went for a reproductive health check. He was diagnosed with secondary infertility, which means infertility after having children.

"I don't believe I'm infertile, so whose daughter is my daughter?", he reacted when he received the results, Dr. Tuan Anh said, adding that the patient immediately insisted that his wife take the child for a DNA test.

"Mr. Dung had mumps three years ago, which caused his testicles to become fibrous and gradually shrink, resulting in no sperm, leading to infertility," Dr. Tuan Anh explained.

The patient then underwent micro-TESE to find sperm, successfully underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF), and gave birth to a son. Mr. Dung confessed that during the infertility treatment, he was still skeptical, secretly took his daughter's hair to do a DNA test, confirming that the child was his own flesh and blood.

Another patient named Khang came to see Dr. Tuan Anh alone, his face covered with a mask "for fear of meeting acquaintances". The examination results showed that the patient's two testicles were as small as peanuts, weighing only 2.8 g (testicles <3 g have a very low sperm recovery rate). Khang had received medical treatment in many places without success, so he planned to have micro-TESE surgery to retrieve sperm.

"But I'm scared of tooth extraction, and I faint when I see blood. So is testicular surgery painful? Will I be anesthetized?", he asked.

Dr. Tuan Anh reassured that micro-TESE surgery is performed under spinal anesthesia so it is painless, takes only 1.5-2 hours, and discharges after 24 hours. 80-90% of infertile men due to mumps can obtain sperm using this method. The patient agreed to undergo the procedure.

Men also face many fears when examining infertility. Illustration: Freepik — Men also face many fears when examining infertility. Illustration: *Freepik*

In another case, Mr. Dang, 38 years old, is the only child in the family, married for three years but has no children. Every day, many people ask him why he has not gone to see a doctor for infertility treatment. He is extremely stressed but afraid of "losing face", so he asks his wife not to reveal the reason because of him. His wife has to bear the reputation of "a single woman without children". He hesitated for two more years before going to IVF Tam Anh for examination.

"Dang has poor sperm quality, but there is still 1% mobile sperm so he can still have children," said Dr. Tuan Anh.

The patient was instructed to collect and store a small amount of sperm for IVF. In October 2023, his family welcomed a new member after 5 years of waiting for a child. "This year I can really celebrate Tet," the father said.

According to Dr. Tuan Anh, men are often considered the stronger sex, but when examined for infertility, they often become shy or quiet. When receiving results of infertility diseases such as varicocele, retrograde ejaculation, undescended testicles, azoospermia, infection... they sometimes lose their composure.

"Men don't cry immediately like women, but their voice and facial expressions change and doctors have to be very observant to notice the unusual expressions," said Dr. Tuan Anh.

Men also face many fears when it comes to infertility treatment, such as fear of pain, fear of losing face, fear of not having children of their own. "Therefore, let men have the right to be weak and sympathetic," Dr. Tuan Anh added.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest infertility rates in the world. According to the Ministry of Health, each year there are about 1 million infertile couples. The infertility rate due to the wife accounts for 40%, equal to the husband, 10% due to both and 10% of unknown causes. Notably, the infertility rate in men is mostly related to sperm quality.

Doctor Tuan Anh said that the methods of sperm extraction from the epididymis (PESA) and micro-TESE, combined with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), can help patients with non-obstructive azoospermia have children, saving maximum time and treatment costs.

Doctors recommend that men should proactively go for a reproductive health check-up before marriage or after 6 months to a year of marriage without having children to quickly determine the cause, treat it easily and effectively, and avoid the risk of sperm donation.

In 2022, Tam Anh IVF recorded a sperm detection rate of over 90% in patients using the PESA method. This rate with the micro-TESE method is about 42%. Particularly for the group of patients with azoospermia due to mumps complications, the sperm detection rate after micro-TESE reached 100%. The average IVF success rate was 68.5%. For couples aged 28-35, this rate reached 74.4%.

Thanh Ba

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