Microsurgical transverse 2-suture intussusception vasoepididymostomy: effectiveness and rationality

Abstract

Background 2-Suture longitudinal vasoepididymostomy shows superiority to transverse technique in an animal study; to date, this has not been consistently confirmed in human body. In the present study, we evaluated the effectiveness of 2-suture transverse intussusception vasoepididymostomy and compared the rationality between transverse and longitudinal techniques. Methods From May 2007 to December 2008, we performed 2-suture transverse vasoepididymostomy in 19 consecutive patients, as described by Marmar with modification. Between March 2009 and January 2010, the internal diameter of the vas lumen and the outer diameter of the epididymal tube were measured using microruler (21 patients and 37 sides). Results Three patients lost to follow-up. At the first follow-up period (ranged from 10 to 24 months), the patency rate was 56.3% (9/16) and the natural pregnancy rate was 25% (4/16). At the second follow-up period (ranged from 46 to 63 months), the patency rate was 68.8% (11/16), the natural pregnancy rate was 37.5% (6/16), respectively, and the takehome baby rate was 31.3% (5/16). The diameter of the vas lumen and the outer diameter of the epididymal tubule were (0.512±0.046) mm and (0.572±0.051) mm (P <0.001), respectively. Conclusion Transverse 2-suture intussusception vasoepididymostomy is still an effective technique in treating obstructive azoospermia.