Varicocele and Male Infertility

Infertility is the incapability to get conceives and malefactors responsible for all infertility cases are 40-50 %. Varicocele is one of the common reasons for male infertility. Varicoceles reduce sperm quality and cause underdeveloped testicles.

Varicocele is an enlargement of veins within the testicles. The loose sack of skin around the scrotum starts expending and resembles a varicose vein that appears in the leg sometimes. It develops gradually; in the beginning, the enlargement of the vein is only sensed by tactual exploration. Eventually, with time, it can be visually detected as swelling without redness above the testicle.

The formation of varicocele is caused by the rise in testicular temperature, intense intratesticular pressure, blood flow reduction in pampiniform plexus, and hormonal anomalies. This depletes the scrotum function of developing high-quality sperms. Since fertility depends on good quality sperms, a varicocele may lead to infertility.

Signs of Varicocele
Varicocele generally does not show any sign. However, sometimes it can show the following symptoms.
•    Sharp pain, heaviness, or dull discomfort in the scrotum.

•    Pain during long-standing position or excessive physical work.

•    Decreased fertility.

•    Puffiness above scrotum without redness.

•    A bag-like bulge on the left side of the scrotum.

Reasons of Varicocele
Dr. Vishal Dutt Gour – the best male fertility specialist in Delhi explains that the varicocele is supposed to generate due to the following three abnormalities.

1.    Vein Valve Malfunction: The valve present in any vein is responsible for preventing blood to flow backward. If the valve inside the scrotum veins fails to work properly, it leads to the backward flowing of blood and damaging the vein. With this pressure, veins start expanding and might cause harm to the testicle. The worse effect may be slow sperm production and infertility.

2.    Anatomical Abnormalities: Varicocele is developed due to the structural differences between the right and left spermatic veins. The right vein injects straight into the inferior vena cava; while, the left one meets into the left renal vein. This leads to the rise of the hydrostatic pressure in the left vein that finally expands the vein and swells the scrotum.

3.    Obstacle in Left Vein: The collection of veins inside the testicles is known as the pampiniform plexus. It is responsible for cooling down the blood before it enters the testicle. Smoking and consumption of toxins can cause damage to the blood vessels. That can block the veins and despair its functionality. If these veins malfunction, the hot blood will supply to the testicles and the quality of sperms affects.

Treatment of Varicocele
There is no medication to cure the varicocele. Varicocelectomy, an operational removal of varicocele is the only way to treat it. In this process, the surgeon first blocks the blood flow to the damaged vein and then removes the varicocele surgically. An x-ray imaging is used to insert a catheter into the vein of the scrotum to trace the blood vessels affected by the varicocele. Once the affected vein is identified, a small slit is made on the testicles by laparoscopic surgery to seal or tie off the affected vein. A patient required less time (nearly 2 weeks) to recover in laparoscopic surgery.

SCI IVF Hospital – the best infertility clinic in Delhi is well equipped for infertility treatment.