Andrological parameters in patients with varicocele and fertility disorders treated by high ligation of the left spermatic vein

Abstract

The results of surgical treatment of 50 subfertile patients with left varicocele are presented. Improvement of the spermiogram was noted as follows: 70% of patients had improvement of semen count, 48% of semen motility and 69.4% in the morphological pattern of spermatozoa. Pregnancy occurred in 50% of patients' wives. Eighty-four percent of the pregnancies took place during the first 12 months after the operation. A direct correlation was observed between the size of the varicocele and the number of pregnancies. Severely oligozoospermic patients with sperm count less than 10 million per milliliter semen constituted 72% of the men whose wives became pregnant. There was no statistically significant change after the operation in levels in the semen of luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, testosterone and prolactin.