The role of diagnostic ultrasonography in varicocele evaluation.

Twenty-one patients with the clinical diagnosis of varicocele were evaluated with static and superficial organ scanners. The sonogram was able to image the dilated scrotal veins in all of these cases. The small, clinically subtle varicocele could be demonstrated only with high-resolution, dedicated real-time small-parts scanners, whereas larger lesions could also be imaged with B-mode contact equipment. Varicoceles are a well-documented cause of male infertility amenable to surgical treatment. From this study it is felt that ultrasonography can accurately detect varicoceles. It can be used as a screening procedure so that only those men requiring therapy need undergo more extensive and complicated diagnostic procedures.