Objective: To study the incidence of serum antisperm antibodies in patients with vas deferens obstruction caused by childhood inguinal herniorrhaphy.
Design: Retrospective.
Setting: Kansai Medical University and Kyoto University Hospital.
Patients: Thirteen patients with vas deferens obstruction caused by childhood inguinal herniorrhaphy.
Main outcome measures: Indirect immunobead test for serum antisperm antibodies.
Results: Of 13 patients, 7 (54%) and 2 (15%) tested positive for immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgA class antisperm antibodies, respectively; all patients tested negative for IgM class antibodies. The incidence of antisperm antibodies was not different between the patients with possible epididymal obstruction and those without epididymal obstruction.
Conclusions: A significant percentage of patients with vasal obstruction caused by infant inguinal herniorrhaphy have serum antisperm antibodies despite the absence of sperm granulomas.