MEDICINE : New Male Infertility Treatment
From Times Wire Services
CHICAGO —
A leading cause of male infertility, varicose veins in the testicles, can be treated by an injection of scalding liquid, doctors reported today.
The experimental procedure has been tried on 180 patients and produced increased sperm counts in 75% of those treated, half of whom later were able to impregnate their wives, doctors at the University of Minnesota Hospital said.
In the new treatment, a superheated liquid is injected through a catheter threaded through the jugular vein down into the scrotum. The patients are sedated but no general anesthesia is required, he said, and the procedure is faster and less expensive than surgery.
