[Effects of surgical repair of first degree varicocele on gonadal function and testicular atrophy].

Varicocele is one of the main causes of male infertility. This pathology, in fact, is responsible for progressive anatomical and functional testicular damage. Constant monitoring of subjects suffering from varicocele is therefore necessary. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of varicocele surgical treatment on seminal parameters, testicular growth and pregnancy rate in patients with grade I varicocele. We operated on 47 patients with left grade I varicocele associated with sperm abnormalities and with testicular hypotrophy. A high ligation of the internal spermatic vein and all its collaterals was performed in all patients. The postoperative follow-up showed a significant improvement in seminal parameters (motility, morphology and sperm count) and in testicular volumes. Moreover, a pregnancy rate of 58% was observed. These results confirm the observations of other investigators and suggest that surgical therapy of varicocele is capable of improving seminal parameters, of reversing varicocele-related testicular hypotrophy and of achieving high pregnancy rates even in patients with grade I varicocele.