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Effective Male Infertility Treatment
For about 15% of all couples, infertility is an issue. A couple is considered to be infertile when they haven’t been able to conceive a child even though they've had frequent, unprotected sexual intercourse for a year or longer. In almost half of these couples, male infertility is the sole or contributing cause.
Male reproductive medicine has seen some remarkable advances in the last 20 years, and Dr. Philip Werthman has been at the forefront of those advances, researching and investigating treatment plans to offer his patients the best possible chance of parenthood.
As a result, he has:
- Helped more than 20,000 couples expand their families,
- Developed in-office, minimally invasive techniques for sperm harvesting
- Been acknowledged by his peers and his patients as the primary medical expert in the field of male reproductive medicine.
- Southern California Super Doctors 2018-2023
- American's Most Honored Doctors 2018-2023
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What is Male Infertility?
To learn about Male Infertility, please watch our video. Produced as a visual resource for patients, the public and male fertility health professionals, the video uses advanced computer imaging technology to demonstrate how sperm are produced, the causes of male infertility, and some of the advanced treatments for male infertility that are performed at Center for Male Reproductive Medicine in Los Angeles.
Male infertility is the inability to father a child, in spite of having frequent, unprotected sex with a fertile female. Since a male fertility problem is much more common that initially thought, any infertility evaluation should include a thorough male history and physical examination with two semen analyses. When a man’s ejaculate is found on analysis to contain no sperm, the male infertility condition is called azoospermia.
Male infertility can be the result of a number of factors, including:
Low sperm production: a man may be producing sperm in insufficient numbers to allow conception to occur easily;
Low sperm quality: the sperm that a man is producing may be misshapen, or unable to move properly toward the egg;
Sperm DNA damage: if the sperm’s DNA is damaged or fragmented, it is unlikely to result in conception;
Blockages: a man’s testicles may be producing sperm that is high in both quality and quantity, and still be rendered infertile if a blockage elsewhere in the system is preventing the sperm from traveling into the ejaculate.
Not being able to conceive a child can be stressful and frustrating, but a number of male infertility treatments are available.
Leader in Male Infertility Surgery
With more than 20,000 procedures successfully resulting in pregnancies, it is no wonder that Dr. Werthman is the male fertility doctor most frequently recommended by his colleagues, most consulted by the media, and most appreciated by his patients.
Our family photo! Big thanks to Dr. Werthman and Dr. B - after six years of infertility we now have our family!
Understanding Male Infertility Treatment
With male infertility, the problem can either be one of insufficient sperm production, or a blockage in the male reproductive tract that is preventing the sperm from reaching the ejaculate.
Dr. Werthman uses multiple treatment procedures to treat male infertility, depending on the exact circumstances of your particular case. To understand these procedures and how they work, you will need to understand basic male reproductive physiology, and how fertility is evaluated.
Male Reproductive Physiology
The testicles, located outside the body due to heat sensitivity, have two basic functions. They produce testosterone and sperm. The inside of the testicle is made up of millions of hollow seminiferous tubules. Their walls are comprised of reproductive cells in various stages of development.
Sperm production starts with a large, round immature cell, the spermatogonia, that divides and undergoes a multi-step, 72-day maturation process, until it becomes a sperm cell, with a head and a tail.
Sperm are released and enter the epididymis, where they are stored. During ejaculation, the sperm are brought up through the vas deferens and prostate, where they mix with seminal vesicle fluid to form semen.
No Sperm in the Ejaculate: Azoospermia
Normally, the seminiferous tubules produce millions of sperm. In the abnormal testicle, sperm may be found in small amounts in some of the tubules.
Azoospermia, or the condition of no sperm in the ejaculate, is due to either a blockage in the reproductive tract or a deficiency in sperm production.
Sperm harvesting techniques have been designed to address these different scenarios based on the patient’s condition.
Click here to learn more about AzoospermiaSchedule Consultation
Male Infertility Treatments
After a diagnosis is made, Dr. Werthman will recommend a treatment plan to help you and your partner improve your chances for successful pregnancy. Testing will be needed to ascertain whether your fertility difficulty is caused by a lack of sperm production, or a blockage, and to see if it is possible to use treatments with hormone therapy to increase your sperm production.
In most cases of male infertility, the diagnosis and treatment will likely involve removing sperm from the reproductive tract to use with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and/or Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). (In ICSI, a single sperm is injected directly into the egg.) Micro-surgical sperm harvesting techniques have been designed to address different scenarios based on your particular situation. The techniques that Dr. Werthman uses were developed at CMRM to give the best possible results in the most comfortable ways possible.
Micro TESE: Microsurgical Testicular Sperm Extraction
If the problem is insufficient sperm production, then it is necessary for Dr. Werthman to extract sperm directly from the testicles. For this Dr. Werthman generally recommends a Micro TESE for the best possible results.
Learn MoreVaricocele Repair
A varicocele is an enlargement of the veins that drain the scrotum, similar to varicose veins that people get in their legs. Repairing the varicocele is an effective technique to improve testicular function and sperm production in men with azoospermia and varicoceles.
Learn MoreMESA: Microsurgical Epididymal Sperm Aspiration
When infertility is caused by a blockage, sperm can be removed from the epididymis. At CMRM, we developed this in-office, relatively painless procedure.
Learn MoreSperm Aspiration
Four distinct techniques are available for Sperm Aspiration, or harvesting sperm from men who are infertile. Learn which procedures Dr. Werthman recommends, which he advises patients to avoid, and why.
Learn MoreThe Media's Favorite Fertility Doctor in Los Angeles
As the top fertility specialist in Los Angeles, it is no wonder that all major media outlets, not only in Los Angeles but nation-wide, turn to Dr. Werthman for his expertise opinion and advice. Dr. Werthman has been featured on ABC, CBS, ESPN, MEL Magazine, Fertility Planit and in numerous online publications and print such as FOX News, Men's Health, Shape, WebMD, Dr. Oz: The Good Life, Cosmopolitan, CNN, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and many more.
Schedule Your Consultation Today
Schedule a private consultation with male fertility doctor Dr. Phillip Werthman to learn about your male reproduction options and get all of your questions answered.
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