Obstructive oligospermia: the role of interventional radiology in its diagnosis and treatment

PURPOSE: According to the latest World Health Organization guidelines (2010), oligo-sperm it is due to a sperm concentration of less than 15 million/ml of seminal fluid. The cause can be obstructive and non-obstructive. Interventional radiology allows diagnosis and, in some cases, minimally invasive treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old man with oligospermia (7 million/ml of seminal fluid), surgically treated 2 years ago for clinical grade III bilateral varicocele (according to Dubin’s classification), was admitted to the Urology Department for suspected accidental surgical ligation of the left vas deferens. The patient underwent several diagnostic tests including phlebography of the left pampiniform plexus, bilateral vesico-deferentography. The steno-occlusion of the ejaculatory ducts was diagnosed, which was resolved through an innovative interventional radiology treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Interventional radiology has played a decisive role in the diagnosis and treatment of the causes of male infertility. In our experience, it has considerable potential in the minimally invasive treatment of steno-obstructive pathologies of the vesico-deferential system.