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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment of male infertility depends on the cause, how long you've been infertile, your age, and personal preferences. In all cases of infertility, the female partner also will need to be evaluated and may need treatment. In some cases, treatment of the female partner can compensate for male fertility problems. Your doctor may try to improve your fertility by either correcting an underlying problem (if one is found) or trying treatments that seem like they may be helpful. Sometimes an exact cause for fertility can't be identified. But, even if an exact cause isn't clear, your doctor may be able to recommend treatments that work.
Treatments for male infertility include:
- Surgery. For example, a varicocele can often be surgically corrected, increasing fertility, or an obstructed vas deferens can be repaired.
- Treatments for sexual problems. Treating conditions such as erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation can improve fertility. Approaches can include medication or counseling.
- Hormone issues. In cases where infertility can be caused by too much or too little of certain hormones, or problems with the way the body uses hormones, your doctor may recommend treatment with hormones or medications that change hormone levels.
- Assisted reproductive technology (ART). For blockage of the vas deferens, retrograde ejaculation, or other problems with sperm delivery, sperm can be taken directly from the testicles or recovered from the bladder and injected into an egg. The most effective ART treatment is in vitro fertilization (IVF). This procedure involves surgically removing an egg from a woman's ovaries, combining it with sperm in the lab, and then placing the fertilized egg into the uterus.
When treatment doesn't work
Sometimes male infertility problems cannot be treated at all, and it's impossible for a man to father a child. If this is the case, your doctor may suggest that you and your partner consider either using sperm from a donor or adopting a child.
