the ultimate goal of male infertility treatment is to create a pregnancy. ideally the cause of the infertility is reversible and then conception can result from natural sex. here are some common male infertility treatments. varicoceles are repaired with surgery to block off the abnormal veins. this seems to result in a significant improvement in fertility although some studies disagree. hormonal abnormalities can sometimes be treated with medicine or surgery. obstructions in the sperm transport plumbing can sometimes be surgically corrected. in the past if the above methods didn’t work it often meant lifelong male infertility. today assisted reproductive techniques (arts) offer powerful new options. these high-tech and expensive male infertility treatments give sperm an artificial boost to get into an egg. arts have made conception possible even for men with very low or abnormal sperm. first sperm are collected either from ejaculated semen or by a needle from the testicle. they are then processed and introduced to eggs by different methods. intrauterine insemination (iui). at the time of ovulation sperm are injected directly up into the uterus. medicines are usually given to the woman first to increase the number of eggs she releases. in-vitro fertilization (ivf). sperm are mixed with multiple eggs collected from the woman in a “test tube” (actually just a plastic dish). fertilized eggs are then placed in the uterus. ivf requires at least some viable sperm. intracytoplasmic sperm injection (icsi). a single sperm is injected through a tiny needle into an egg. the fertilized egg is then implanted in the uterus. icsi can be performed when sperm counts are extremely low or abnormal.
what are some treatments for male infertility?