Impact of varicocele on testicular volume in young men: significance of compensatory hypertrophy of contralateral testis.

PURPOSE: We examined the impact on ipsilateral testicular volume in young men with varicocele and determined whether compensatory hypertrophy exists.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Between April and November 2001, 2,700 men who were 20 years old and dwelling in the community were randomly selected at a 10% sampling fraction after a sampling process according to census district. A total of 2,080 men (77% response rate) agreed to participate in the study. All volunteers underwent standard evaluation, including medical history and physical examination.

RESULTS

Testicular volume on the affected side in men with varicocele was significantly smaller than that of the contralateral side, while testicular volume on the contralateral side was significantly larger than that of the left side in normal men. In those with unilateral varicocele testicular volume on the affected side did not depend on varicocele grade but contralateral testicular volume in men with grade I varicocele was significantly smaller than in men with higher grades of the entity. The rate of testicular atrophy increased depending on varicocele grade.

CONCLUSIONS

Varicocele negatively impacts testicular volume on the affected side in young men. Our findings suggest that men with higher grades of varicocele have a hypertrophied testis on the contralateral side.