Testicular Biopsy
Since the middle of the 20 th century, biopsies of the testicles have been an important diagnostic tool in the evaluation of male fertility. After a careful physical exam, medical history, semen analysis, and hormone level assessment, the decision to perform a testicular biopsy can be critical to diagnose and treat many male fertility disorders.
Why is a testicular biopsy needed? If you recall, male fertility really breaks down to either an issue in production or delivery. The sperm production factory is the testicle. A testicular biopsy is like taking a private tour of the factory to help you understand problems in the semen analysis.
When no sperm are in the ejaculate, it can be a problem with the production or with the delivery of sperm out of your penis. If a testicular biopsy shows normal sperm production in the factory, then it has helped you because your efforts can now be directed towards looking for a point of obstruction in the delivery pipes. If the testicular biopsy shows no sperm production at all (germ cell aplasia), then Dr. Kuang knows that the problem is more of an issue of production and not delivery.
This discussion has been simplified for the sake of explanation. As with all things in life, it gets a lot more complicated than this. The levels of your hormones, the size of your testicles, the possibility that the factory is working but not at full capacity (hypospermatogenesis or maturation arrest), the presence of a varicocele, your reproductive timetable and your desire for natural versus artifical conception all come into play in helping Dr. Kuang and you decide if a testicular biopsy is the best next step for you to build a healthy family.