Viagra for temporary erectile dysfunction during treatments with assisted reproductive technologies

During treatments with assisted reproductive technologies (ART), some men may have difficulties in producing spermatozoa on demand at the time of insemination, either for intrauterine insemination (IUI) or for in-vitro fertilization (IVF). This situation imposes tremendous stress on the couple and may cause cancellation of the treatment. Here we describe, for the first time, the use of sildenafil citrate (Viagra(TM)) for temporary erectile dysfunction in couples undergoing ART. The first case was a man who could not produce spermatozoa for the first IVF treatment after an exhausting trial for 12 h, despite the fact that he never had problems in providing sperm samples during previous IUI cycles. Using Viagra enabled him to provide spermatozoa, but the delay in oocyte insemination resulted in no embryonic development. This prompted us to be more alert to this option and to suggest the use of Viagra to men who had a history of erectile dysfunction during previous ART cycles. In these cases, the use of Viagra was planned in advance and it successfully solved any unpredictable erectile dysfunction on the day of insemination. Such cases emphasize the need to think in advance of this potential use of Viagra during ART.