A professor of Surgery at the University of Lagos, Kehinde Habeeb Tijani, has said that males account for at least 50 per cent of cases of infertility in society.
  
Delivering his inaugural lecture titled, ‘Men’s Reproductive System: It’s Manufacturing Errors, Equipment Failures and Failed Deliveries,’ on Wednesday, at the University of Lagos, Tijani maintained that his research revealed that for couples experiencing infertility, the man should be evaluated first by doing a semen analysis.
     
According to him, it is only after the test is normal that emphasis should shift to the partner, stating that most urological complications can be prevented by early intervention.
  
Providing some insight into why there is high infertility among men, Tijani stated that no child should be circumcised until the penis is examined for abnormalities, as the prepuce (skin usually removed during circumcision) is often needed to treat the abnormality.
  
He said: “Every parent or caregiver should confirm the presence of the testes in the scrotum for every newborn or infant male. If they notice an absent or poorly developed scrotum, the attention of a specialist must be sought immediately. Testes that do not reach the scrotum before the end of one year do not properly develop.
  
“Male workers should avoid wearing loose clothes that may get entangled with machinery to avoid avulsion injuries to the penis.
  
“Fracture of the penis is real and not rare. Couples should be wary of sexual positions that significantly increase the risk.”
  
He stated that persistent penile erection lasting more than four hours is an absolute emergency and the patient must seek specialist care for surgical intervention as soon as possible, saying that a delay of more than 24 hours can lead to permanent erectile dysfunction.