476 Sperm retrieval rate: comparative single surgeon results between first 30 consecutive c-TESE and first 30 m -TESE in NOA patients

In the current literature, controversy is still present if m-TESE has to be considered the gold standard technique to retrieve sperms in non obstructive azoospermia (NOA) patients. In this study we reported comparative results regarding to testicular sperm retrieval in NOA patients, submitted to m-TESE and c-TESE in a non academic centre. Complete data of 60 consecutive Caucasian males, suffering from primary infertility, were collected between January 2015 and October 2017. All patients were referred to our center for TESE, conventional (c-TESE) or microscopic (m-TESE); we started performing m-TESE in September 2016. All procedures were performed by the same surgeon (AS). Statistical analysis were conducted in order to evaluate correlations between first 30 c-TESE and first 30 m-TESE in terms of demographic data, cause of infertility, time to first infertility diagnosis, serum levels of hormones, operative results, sperm retrieval rate and histological findings. Chi-square and ANOVA test were used to examine the differences in categorical and continuous variables, respectively.