A comparison of post-thaw results between embryos arising from intracytoplasmic sperm injection using surgically retrieved or ejaculated spermatozoa

de Cássia Savio Figueira, Rita; Madaschi, Camila; Nichi, Marcílio; Rodrigues, Débora; Pasqualotto, Fábio Firmbach; Iaconelli, Assumpto; Borges, Edson

doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.12.063

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Volume 91, Issue 3 , Pages 727-732, March 2009

A comparison of post-thaw results between embryos arising from intracytoplasmic sperm injection using surgically retrieved or ejaculated spermatozoa

Rita de Cássia Savio Figueira, M.Sc.
- Fertility–Assisted Fertilization Center, São Paulo, Brazil
Camila Madaschi, B.Sc.
- Fertility–Assisted Fertilization Center, São Paulo, Brazil
Marcílio Nichi, M.Sc.
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Department of Animal Reproduction, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Débora Rodrigues, B.Sc.
- Fertility–Assisted Fertilization Center, São Paulo, Brazil
Fábio Firmbach Pasqualotto, M.D., Ph.D.
- University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, Brazil
Assumpto Iaconelli Jr., M.D.
- Fertility–Assisted Fertilization Center, São Paulo, Brazil
- Sapientiae Institute, São Paulo, Brazil, Brazil
Edson Borges Jr., M.D., Ph.D.
- Fertility–Assisted Fertilization Center, São Paulo, Brazil
- Sapientiae Institute, São Paulo, Brazil, Brazil
- Reprint requests: Edson Borges, Jr, M.D., Ph.D., Fertility–Assisted Fertilization Center, Av. Brigadeiro Luis Antônio 4545, São Paulo, SP 01402-001, Brazil (FAX: 55-11-38859858).

Received 6 September 2007; received in revised form 19 December 2007; accepted 19 December 2007. published online 18 February 2008.

Objective

To study the effect of freeze–thaw on embryos derived from intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using surgically retrieved and ejaculated spermatozoa.

Design

Retrospective study.

Setting

Private IVF center.

Patient(s)

Three hundred eighty-three patients undergoing frozen–thawed ET cycles.

Intervention(s)

Testicular sperm aspiration (TESA) or percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) were the sperm surgical retrieval methods used for ICSI. Embryos resulting from ICSI using surgically retrieved and ejaculated spermatozoa were frozen, thawed, and transferred.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Post-thaw survival, implantation, and pregnancy rates.

Result(s)

No differences were found between the ejaculated sperm and TESA/PESA groups in terms of post-thaw survival rate (68.4% vs. 66.1%, respectively), pregnancy rate (20.1% vs. 16.1%), and implantation rate (10.6% vs. 12.7%). Similar results were found for those variables when comparing TESA and PESA groups.

Conclusion(s)

Cleavage embryos arising from ICSI cycles using testicular and epididymal spermatozoa can be frozen with survival, pregnancy, and implantation rates comparable to those obtained with ejaculated spermatozoa.

Key Words: Cryopreservation, ICSI, azoospermia, testicular spermatozoa, epididymal spermatozoa