VARICOCELES

Experience relief from pain and infertility with VIE’s advanced varicocele embolization.

If you or someone you know suffers from varicoceles, VIE’s state-of-the-art, minimally invasive embolization procedure offers a highly effective solution with a 98% success rate. Our outpatient treatment provides fast relief from pain and infertility issues without the need for groin incisions or general anesthesia.

Definition

Varicoceles are enlarged varicose veins around the testicle that can cause pain, swelling, and infertility. A varicocele develops due to poorly functioning valves in veins that cause blood to flow in the wrong direction and increases pressure within the vein. This condition affects 15 out of 100 men overall and 40 out of 100 men with known infertility. Varicoceles are often identified in young men but can occur at any age.

Risk Factors

There are no significant risk factors due to the development of Varicoceles.

Symptoms

Pain varying from sharp to dull discomfort in the groin or testicular area
Increased pain with standing, physical exertion, or heavy lifting
Worsening pain over the course of a day
Relief when lying down
Testicular swelling (may feel or look like a bag of worms)
Low sperm production and decreased sperm quality lead to infertility
Testicular atrophy over time

Treatment and Benefits

While varicoceles cause testicular swelling that can appear like a bag of worms in the scrotum, an ultrasound examination is the best way to identify and classify a varicocele, as there are many causes of testicular swelling. Eliminating the varicocele improves or eliminates pain and should be considered to prevent testicular atrophy and infertility.

At VIE, we specialize in varicocele embolization, a minimally invasive procedure where a catheter is guided into the veins supplying the varicocele through a tiny incision. The non-functioning veins allowing blood to leak into the varicocele are closed using tiny metal coils, and the blood then drains out of the testicle through normal veins.

While both surgical and embolization techniques work well, varicocele embolization offers several advantages:

Higher success rate of fixing a varicocele
Eliminates pain stemming from a varicocele
Improvement of sperm quality in about 50% of patients
Much lower overall risk than conventional surgery
No surgical incision in the scrotal area
As effective as varicocele surgery at improving semen analysis and pregnancy rates
Patients can return to normal daily activities immediately
No required hospital admittance
Bilateral varicoceles can be fixed simultaneously through one vein puncture site
No general anesthesia or sutures required
Reduced chance of infection
Improved testosterone and sexual function, including erection and ejaculatory functions

What to Expect

The procedure takes less than 45 minutes, and patients can return to work or school the next day, with a return to complete activity within a couple of days.

REFERENCES

Asafu-Adjei, D., Velazquez-Castellanos, A., Ramasamy, R., Lokeshwar, S. D., Masterson, T., Kava, B., & Ramasamy, R. (2020). Improvement in testosterone and sexual function following varicocele repair. Investigative and Clinical Urology, 61(2), 177–183. https://doi.org/10.4111/icu.2020.61.2.177
Samplaski, M. K., Lo, K. C., Grober, E. D., Zini, A., & Jarvi, K. A. (2019). Varicocelectomy to “upgrade” semen quality to allow couples to use less invasive forms of assisted reproductive technology. Fertility and Sterility, 112(4), 609–612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.06.008