Varicocele natural history, complications and prognosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

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Varicocele may lead to infertility. Complications from treatment may include:

• Atrophic testis
• Blood clot formation
• Infection
• Injury to the scrotal tissue or nearby blood vessel

A varicocele is usually harmless and sometimes requires no treatment. If surgery is required because of infertility or testicular atrophy, the outlook is usually excellent. Removal of varicocele can lead to normal testicular temperatures and an increased sperm production.

Whether or not a varicocele causes infertility is a contentious issue. Recent research suggests that there may be no improvement in fertility after treating a varicocele with surgery; indeed, the research implies that there may not even be a reliable causal link between the presence of a varicocele and infertility in males ^[1].

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