title: Triplet pregnancy achieved through intracytoplasmic sperm injection with spermatozoa obtained by prostatic massage of a paraplegic patient: case report.
abstract: Spinal cord-injured men with ejaculation disorders can have children thanks to assisted reproduction techniques. Spermatozoa from these patients are usually obtained through vibratory stimulation, electroejaculation or by puncturing the seminal duct or the testicle. We present the first published case, as far as we are aware, of spermatozoa obtained through prostatic massage of a paraplegic patient. Penile vibratory stimulation was unsuccessful in this patient. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with spermatozoa obtained through electroejaculation was performed at another centre but pregnancy was not achieved. Through prostatic massage, we obtained a total semen volume of 6 ml containing a total count of 12.32x10(6) spermatozoa (6.24x10(6) with tails), 8% of which had motility (graded + and ++); and 16% of which had normal morphology. The spermatozoa obtained were then used to perform IVF with ICSI and a triplet pregnancy was achieved. Prostatic massage appears to be an easy, non-traumatic and risk-free method to obtain spermatozoa from paraplegic patients.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Reproducción CEFER (Centro Médico Teknon), Marquesa de Vilallonga, 08017 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marina
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marina
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alcolea
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nadal
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pons
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grossmann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Expósito
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vidal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008405:Massage; D008845:Microinjections; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011467:Prostate / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012661:Semen / Q000502:physiology; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014310:Triplets