Friday, February 11, 2011

My TESA Procedure

TESA, testicular sperm aspiration, is a non-surgical procedure performed in an attempt to recover testicular sperm from a male with Cystic Fibrosis. 95% of CF men are unable to conceive in the "natural way" and this is largely due to a congenital absence of the vas deferens (the tube that brings out the sperm to meet with the semen). I recently had my own TESA procedure and wanted to bring you guys inside the room. Don't worry though, I've edited out any shots of my boys. For more information on the TESA procedure, I encourage you to Google in or find some additional videos on YouTube.



By the way, they found sperm!!
Pontificated by Mandi
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niki's avatar

niki · 738 weeks ago

umm ow!!!!!!! gosh you guys are troopers, I could see you pain so much it made a lump in my throat. I'm praying this cycle ends up with a fetus, you guys should get to enjoy the wonderful pregnancy part.
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Danielle · 737 weeks ago

haha! Mandi is like sadistically laughing during the procedure...same that we are doing here....OMG, I'm so sorry you are hurting, but it's SSSOO worth it. In the words of Dori...Just Keep Swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming..... Go swimmers go!
Hang in there man xoxo
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Jason · 737 weeks ago

You said frozen chop suey LMAO.
Your awesome. Hugs and prayers!
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Dan Neville's avatar

Dan Neville · 737 weeks ago

Looks like you had fun...Good Luck
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visionabutterfly 2p · 737 weeks ago

Our doctor was a tad different. I wasn't allowed in the room for the procedure. John said that the doctor told him it would feel like a bee sting. John promptly replied, I've never been stung in the testicle by a bee! Your face turned the color of your shirt quick! Mandi, just remind him, his pain was the one needle a few times. You've had to endure several needles over the duration and if all goes as planned, your pain is just beginning :) Prayers for you guys.
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visionabutterfly 2p · 737 weeks ago

Ooops. My account is still signed in for the blog I was setting up for my Aunt who lives in Germany. It is Rhonda, I've posted to you guys before. My husband is a Fibro.
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Traci Johnson's avatar

Traci Johnson · 737 weeks ago

I'm aching for you Ronnie. You've already been through so much and now this. Accckkkk
You're both troopers and I'm wishing you both tons of good luck and fortune!
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Brandon Rees's avatar

Brandon Rees · 737 weeks ago

This is the first time I've come across your blog. Holy shit. That is all. (I'm less scared to try this now.) Thank you sir.
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Jodi's avatar

Jodi · 737 weeks ago

I would love to send you a private comment but for the life of me I can't find your email address (I am sure it's right in front of my face). Thanks for sharing so passionately what you and Mandi or going through to have children. You two are super amazing. Again, if I can ever find your email address I have some other comments. Take it easy today; tomorrow is a big day for you and Mandi. Good luck tomorrow, Mandi. This one of the biggest days of your life.
3 replies · active 737 weeks ago
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Mandi's avatar

Mandi · 737 weeks ago

Hi Jodi - Ronnie's without a computer/email right now, so if you want to email me, I will make sure he gets it. Email me at amanda@cysticlife.org. For future reference, Ronnie's email address is Ronnie@cysticlife.org.

Thanks for your comment! We'll be sure to keep you posted with how tomorrow goes!
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Jodi's avatar

Jodi · 737 weeks ago

Mandi--the email is for you too. So, I can email either one it doesn't matter since you live in the same house. LOL! But since I have you, Mandi, I will say good luck tomorrow. Have you decided how many "little munchkins to be" you will be putting back? How long after tomorrow do you have to wait to see if your preggo? Sorry for all the questions but I have been reading for quite some time and I am so happy for you guys. I am so amazed with all of this. But I will email privately with something. Watch out for it the next couple of days. By the way, are you awake for tomorrow's procedure? Is it painful (not that pain would stop you). LOL!
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Mandi's avatar

Mandi · 737 weeks ago

We are still on the fence (nothing like a last minute decision), but I believe we're putting back two. Well, "on the fence" may be a little dramatic, we're like 95% sure that we'll put two back, but are waiting to hear from our doctor if his suggestion is 1 or 2 based on how our embryos are looking and how my OHSS is doing in his opinion, after seeing me - my guess is he'll suggest 2. Our pregnancy test is Tuesday, February 22! So we'll have 9 long days to wait. The embryo transfer is quick, easy, pretty much painless (no worse than a yearly gyno visit). So I can awake for the whole thing (only takes a few minutes once we're all settled in the room and everyone's in place.

Don't apologize for the questions - keep them coming. We want to share our experiences since we know it can save others from the same uncertainty! We look forward to your email!! Big hugs!
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Amanda · 736 weeks ago

I pray that Nick did not watch this video....He is already scared about the procedure when ever we decide to do it... lol
1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago
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Alisha's avatar

Alisha · 736 weeks ago

I was just thinking this same thing Amanda about my hubby. Poor soul. I don't know if I could stand to see him go through that. He has agreed to go through with it when the time comes but doesn't want to hear ANYTHING about the procedure. I told him, "Well the doctors are going to explain it." He was like, "No they can explain it to you." Lol what good does that do?
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Brooks Williams's avatar

Brooks Williams · 524 weeks ago

Ronnie,
When you get a chance, could you please shoot me an email? My wife and I are preparing for IVF as well, and I was just floored when the doctors told me that the sperm aspiration is a $9000 out-of-pocket proceedure! Gulp.,..
I'd really like to know if you had to just bite the bullet or if you had any sort of assistance with this portion of the IVF process.

Thanks in advance!
Brooks
3 replies · active 505 weeks ago
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Caitlin 's avatar

Caitlin · 507 weeks ago

Brooks,
My husband and I are in the exact same situation! We couldn't believe the price tag on the procedure! May I ask what your doctor recommended? Our urologist only mentioned the MESA procedure (under general anesthesia) and if that didn't result in anything, he would move on to the TESE. We're questioning now if we should find a second opinion. Ronnie, please email me as well if you know off hand why your doctor recommended the TESA procedure
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RunSickboyRun 96p · 507 weeks ago

MESA has been shown to provide more sperm and sometimes better samples of sperm, but my IVF doc does not believe that the benefit justifies the cost. I had a perch biopsy done for both of our children and they produced plenty of sperm (some better than others). My biopsies cost 500 bucks.
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Caitlin's avatar

Caitlin · 505 weeks ago

Thanks for the reply, Ronnie! The first urologist we visited will only do the MESA. We're going to see another urologist soon to get a second opinion. Also, the new urologist "only" charges $6k for the procedure vs. $10k at the other office. Brooks- if you live in a metro area with multiple male reproductive specialists, I suggest shopping around. The $4k in savings is just from a cheaper fee at the surgical center.
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brendan's avatar

brendan · 504 weeks ago

had this done myself about three years ago, what they did with me is they told me they would start
with needle on 1 side, test it, and if not happy move to other side with needle, test it, and then
if not happy they would move on to cutting.

what happened is he went in with needle on 1 side, as I lie there waiting in a freezing cold
operating room table surrounded by dr and three nurses and my shrunken junk due to cold
they came back and said "were done" I was so relieved they found sperm and that they didn't have to cut.

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