Microsurgery in common cases of male infertility.

Prior to the advent of microsurgical equipment and techniques, it was rare for urologists or other surgeons to produce a full pregnancy as a result of reconstructing fine tubal blockages in the male reproductive tract. Perhaps 2% of vasectomized men, and a large percent of men born sterile, are desirous of being able to start a pregnancy, and so in 1970, I began a research project with new equipment to find a reliable way of joining fine body tubes. I found that our bodily tubes can be grouped as being three-layered and that their differences lay mainly in the kind of inner, individual mucosal cell structure and their type and thickness of the muscular layer.

How microsurgery can assist in tubal reconstruction.

Despite the fact that gynecologists were very early users of the operating microscope to observe the possible pathology of the cervical mucosa by brilliant lighting and magnification, the advent of in vitro fertilization (IVF) seems to have stopped this specialty from using the benefits of microsurgery in female tubal reconstruction. Now having performed and followed up for at least 2 years nearly 1000 microsurgical tubal reconstructions after sterilizations, with an endpoint being the birth of a baby in the time following, it is obvious that there are real benefits in pursuing these techniques, because no single IVF Unit in the world gets even half as many live birth results from their best practices. Apart from a genuine 82.

Long-term result of guided nerve regeneration with an inert microporous polytetrafluoroethylene conduit.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term outcome of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) conduit in nerve repair and to provide more evidence in view of its potential application to achieve a satisfactory functional recovery in clinical settings.

Methods: Thirty-six Wistar rats had their right sciatic nerve transected and were repaired with either conventional microsuture technique (Control group, n=18) or a PTFE conduit with a gap of 5 mm left between the nerve stumps (PTFE group, n=18). At 6 and 9 months after the operation, electrophysiological assessment and measurement of gastrocnemius muscle weight were conducted and morphology of the regenerated nerves were studied with image analysis.