Fertility Treatment for Men with Spinal Cord Injuries
Electro-Ejaculation (EEJ)
EEJ is performed under general anaesthesia (In some cases, men with a complete SCI who have lost sensation might not require general anesthesia). VEJ can be performed in some cases instead of EEJ. VEJ does not require general anaesthesia. For both procedures, a urine catheter is first inserted into your bladder to empty the urine and then used to collect sperm from the bladder in case semen is ejaculated backwards. This catheter is then removed and you are put on your side with your thighs and knees bent.
For EEJ, a well lubricated and sterile probe is inserted into your rectum and repeated rhythmic electrical stimulations are administered until semen is retrieved. Once ejaculation occurs the semen is collected into a sterile container and transported to the andrology lab for evaluation. The semen can either be used immediately for artificial insemination of your partner, or to fertilize eggs obtained by in vitro fertilization, or frozen for future use.
Potential risks:
In some patients suffering from SCI an EEJ or VEJ procedure may cause overstimulation of the nervous system following by increase in blood pressure, headaches and decrease in heart rate. Therefore, a medication to control blood pressure is often given prior to the procedure.
Rarely, minor burns may occur in the rectum if the electric probe gets too hot. As a precaution, a small telescope is used at the end of the procedure to check for this.