The Primed Southwest annual conference was held in Houston, TX this year. This multi-topic primary care conference updates primary care physicians on important topics in medicine. Dr. Parviz Kavoussi was invited to speak as a guest lecturer at the 2017 Primed conference. He spoke on the topic of hypogonadism, also known as low testosterone. As a male fertility specialist, Dr. Kavoussi focused on educating on the appropriate evaluation and treatment of men with hypogonadism, including how to treat men who want to maintain fertility potential or are trying to conceive. This is crucial for health care providers and patients to understand that they should not be on testosterone replacement therapy when trying to conceive, as testosterone replacement will suppress sperm production. Dr. Kavoussi lectured on other treatment options for these men, including drugs like Clomiphene Citrate, Tamoxifen, and hCG, which can normalize testosterone levels in a manner that is not harmful for sperm production. He also discussed the potential to correct hypogonadism in men with varicoceles, by simply surgically repairing the varicocele.
Dr. Kavoussi states, “It was wonderful to lecture on a topic that is so important. Unfortunately, way too often, I see couples coming in for fertility evaluations with concern for sperm production, and the first drug on the man’s list is testosterone replacement.” Dr. Kavoussi lectured that typically stopping the testosterone and starting testicular stimulating drugs can result in resumption of sperm production several months later, in the majority of men. In men who fail to respond, there are still other more complex options Dr. Kavoussi can offer with excellent results.