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New Treatment for Male Infertility |
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New Treatment for Male Infertility |
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| New Treatment for
Male Infertility- A new, less-invasive and less-painful procedure effectively treats a type of male infertility and eliminates the need for surgery. Male infertility caused by varicose veins in the scrotum reduces the sperm count and can cause pain in the groin. The condition is usually treated by surgically tying off the varicose veins. But researchers at British Columbia Hospital in Vancouver, B.C., say a technique called embolization is just as effective and reduces the recovery time from six days to one. A catheter is inserted through a small incision made in the neck or leg. Then tiny, stainless-steel pellets are released through the catheter and sent to block off the varicose veins. The researchers say 85 percent of their patients treated with embolization improved their sperm counts and 45 percent went on to impregnate their partners. This study was presented this week at the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology's annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. |