Stepwise mini-incision microdissection testicular sperm extraction in NOA patients with a history of cryptorchidism: a case–control study

Background Although the orchiopexy is recommended for cryptorchidism to preserve male fertility, non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) may occur in adulthood. Fortunately, a great many of azoospermic men may obtain sperm by microdissection testicular sperm extraction (mTESE). Due to the potential injuries caused by testicular diagnostic biopsy and vascular damage at the time of orchidopexy, minimal invasiveness is particularly important during mTESE, aims to reduce the surgical damage and avoids secondary testicular failure. This comparative study aims to investigate the efficacy of stepwise mini-incision mTESE technique by comparison with standard mTESE in the treatment of NOA patients with a history of cryptorchidism. Results A total of 73 mTESE procedures were divided into two groups: Group 1 included 37 cases performed by stepwise mini-incision mTESE, while Group 2 included 36 cases with standard mTESE. The overall sperm retrieval rate (SRR) in the two groups was 68.5% (50/73), with no significant difference in SRR between Group 1 (78.4%, 29/37) and Group 2 (58.3%, 21/36) ( P = 0.1). In addition, 46.0% of the patients (17/37) obtained sperm in the first mini-incision step in Group 1, which was also equal to an overall SRR in Group 2 (58.3%, 21/36) ( P = 0.3). The operation time in Group 1 (72.6 ± 33.9 min) was significantly shorter than that in Group 2 (90.4 ± 36.4 min) ( P = 0.04). Patients with an orchidopexy age no more than 10 years old had a higher SRR (79.5%, 31/39) than others (55.9%, 19/34) ( P = 0.03). There were no postoperative complications including wound infection, scrotal hematoma, persistent pain, and testicular atrophy during a follow-up period of at least 6 months. Conclusions In conclusion, our study suggests that the stepwise mini-incision mTESE could be a promising approach for sperm retrieval in NOA men with a history of cryptorchidism. While the technique may potentially reduce operation time and surgical invasiveness, further research is needed to validate these findings on a larger scale. The results also suggest that age at orchidopexy may affect SRR and have important implications for the management of cryptorchidism.