Sperm parameters after early left varicocele treatment.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated whether early treatment for left varicocele can improve sperm parameters.


METHODS
Patient follow-up and comparison with control groups.


METHODS
Surgical department of a Children's Hospital and a university infertility-care center.


METHODS
Nineteen patients who underwent surgery for left varicocele as adolescents (mean +/- SD, 14.11 +/- 1.59 years) were followed up as adults (mean +/- SD, 19.37 +/- 1.16 years).


METHODS
A testicular examination was performed and varicocele staging was done at the time of surgery. Andrologic examination and semen analysis were done 2-8 years later. Semen results were compared with those of two age-matched control groups of 19 healthy, randomly selected subjects and 19 unoperated patients suffering from left varicocele of the same degree.


RESULTS
The mean values of sperm parameters in the patient study group were similar to those of the healthy controls except that the sperm concentration was significantly lower. However, sperm motility and morphology mean values in the patient study group were significantly higher than those of the unoperated patients.


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicates that surgery in adolescence can be useful, possibly because the testis is developing at that age. Large-scale, double-blind controlled trials on early treatment of left varicocele are needed to identify possible markers of disease severity.
Lenzi
A
A
Department of Medical Pathophysiology, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy.
Gandini
L
L
Bagolan
P
P
Nahum
A
A
Dondero
F
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008026:Ligation; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D014646:Varicocele / Q000601:surgery*