Varicocele | Everything You Need to Know

UPDATED ON 15th APR. 2023

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Varicocele is one of the health conditions in males that can impact their fertility. But there are a lot of misconceptions and myths around Varicocele.

Some patients diagnosed with Varicocele feel they can conceive a child after getting surgery to remove the Varicocele. So is it the case?

Well, we will explore this and many other questions related to Varicocele.

So let’s begin by understanding what Varicocele is.

What is Varicocele?

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Males have two testes. A vein from one testis goes to the main vein of the body, also known as IVC.

Another vein goes into the renal vein. These veins have an inbuilt valve inside them. These valves prevent the reverse flow of blood.

When there is some issue with the valve, the size of the vein enlarges. Varicocele is more common in the vein that emerges from the left testicle. This condition is known as Varicocele.

Due to Varicocele, the waste that should flow from the testes to the kidney returns to the testes. This can impact the sperm formation process, resulting in low sperm count or Oligospermia.

The enlarged vein can cause pain and discomfort to the patient.

Diagnosis :

Varicocele is diagnosed with the help of clinical examination. Your doctor will ask you to stand and examine your testes.

Then they will identify whether the Varicocele is palpable (that can be felt with the hand). Any palpable varicocele falls in the grade 3 and grade 4 category, i.e. larger Varicocele.

If you have such a large varicocele, you are feeling pain, and your sperm count is quite low, then only surgery makes sense.

And even after performing the surgery for the Varicocele, there is no guarantee that the issue will be solved. The possibility of solving the issue is around 30 to 40%.

Understanding the surgery of Varicocele

The surgery for Varicocele is quite simple. We make a small incision beside the testis, which has Varicocele and tie the vein there.

Now if you are wondering what happens to the blood flow once we tie the vein, there is a natural bypass route for the blood to flow.

The whole procedure hardly takes 15 to 30 minutes, and the patient can go home the same day.

When, Not to do Surgery for Varicocele

There are multiple conditions in which the surgery for Varicocele makes no sense.

These conditions include:

• Normal Sperm Count

• Azoospermia (a condition where you have zero sperm count)

• If there is an issue with your female partner’s fertility

• If your sperm motility is poor, varicocele surgery makes no sense

A lot of people make the mistake of getting surgery for Varicocele even if they have normal sperm count or Azoospermia.

Remember, in both these conditions, surgery makes no sense at all.

So when should you get surgery for Varicocele?

Well, the surgery can be helpful only if the:

Your sperm count is between 9 to 10 million with good motility

Every month, we perform multiple varicocele surgeries. But, we advise 80% of the patients not to get this surgery done as it will serve no purpose.

Remember, surgery is not magic. It can be helpful only in certain conditions.

Moreover, the success rate of natural conceiving after this surgery is also just 30 to 40%.

Wrapping up

When we consult even healthy couples and convince them to conceive naturally, they come back to us with the same question that we addressed above. So if you, too, have the same thought process, it’s absolutely wrong.

If you are trying to conceive naturally and are not succeeding, there could be another issue. So it’s important to consult a specialist in such a situation for better guidance.

If you have any other infertility-related queries, feel free to ask us.

We will get back to you with the solution.

So don’t hesitate and reach out to us.

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