Office Andrology

Abstract

P PATTON, D BATTAGLIA. Office Andrology. 308 pages. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, 2005. ISBN 1-59259-876-5 So many problems associated with female infertility were solved with IVF, yet male infertility remained an intractable problem until the introduction of ICSI. Many reproductive specialists throughout the world are trained gynecologists, not necessarily having a good command of clinical andrology. For these doctors the advent of this book certainly will simplify clinical practise in the field of severe male factor infertility. “Office Andrology” is a comprehensive book, easily read, covering a variety of topics such as basic sperm biology, male reproductive endocrinology, immunology, sperm testing, and genetic issues of male infertility. Further, male infertility work-up, management of varicoceles, and treatment of men with azoospermia are well covered topics. Interestingly, the book also looks into topics such as “HIV discordance couples” and “post-humous reproduction”, the latter an area where most clinicians, at least in the Nordic countries, are totally inexperienced due to stricter jurisdiction. All the contributors are active in the USA and readers from other continents such as Europe might not always agree with the authors’ suggestions of management. One example is sperm recovery procedures where the authors point out “Microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration (MESA)” in obstructive and “Microsurgical testicular sperm extraction” in nonobstructive azoospermia as superior methods. Both methods are also covered in a comprehensive manner in the text. Alternative, less invasive, and simpler procedures such as “percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA)”, “testicular sperm aspiration (TESA)”, and “percutaneous testicular biopsy”, all well documented and globally frequently used methods, are hardly mentioned in the text. Further, there is no discussion about financial concerns, which are of great interest for both patients and clinicians active in public as well as private fertility centers. One of the highlights of this book is the informative chapter entitled “Genetic Testing for Male Infertility” where topics such as “Y chromosomal microdeletions”, karyotypic anomalies, and mutations of the “cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)” gene are reviewed and summarized in an easily understandable way. The book is very welcome and will be a valuable tool for doctors, embryologists, and fertility nurses throughout the world.