Both operations are commonly carried out as a part of an IVF treatment cycle, in which the sperm are collected and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is utilized to fertilize eggs in a lab setting.
Men who have trouble generating or ejaculating sperm spontaneously can employ the TESA (Testicular Sperm Aspiration) and PESA (Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration) procedures to harvest sperm from the testicles or epididymis directly.
In the TESA procedure, a little amount of tissue is aspirated (withdrawn) from the testicle under local anaesthetic in order to retrieve sperm. A needle is inserted straight into the epididymis, a tube at the rear of the testicle where sperm are deposited, during the PESA technique, which is a comparable procedure.
When a man has a blockage in the epididymis or vas deferens, or when there is a problem with the production or distribution of sperm, TESA and PESA are frequently employed. They can also be employed in situations where sperm retrieval attempts in the past have failed.