Is the sperm retrieval procedure painful?

The procedure is done under sedation usually so therefore, the patient should not really suffer much pain and what happens is that once the patient has come out of theater, the doctor, the urologist, usually makes sure that there is enough painkillers that the patient has in order to avoid any pain straight away after the procedure.

Yes, it may become painful especially if we have to perform testicular sperm extraction TESE and this is the reason why in all cases, whether TESA is performed or TESE is performed, a mild anesthesia is provided in order to reduce any discomfort during the operation. For TESA, the duration of operation is let’s say 5 to 10 minutes, while for TESE and especially for micro TESE a longer period will be required. In any case, after the operation, the patient may experience a degree of discomfort which depends on the degree of intervention for one or two days. Normally no longer than that.

There are different ways that sperm can be retrieved and all of them are done of course under either local anesthetic or general anesthetic, so the man doesn’t feel a thing.