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Published on: December 22, 2023
Phleboliths in varicoceles presenting as spermatic cord mass
Stephen Lazarou1, Luis Reyes-Vallejo, Abraham Morgentaler
1Harvard Medical School, Division of Urology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. s_lazarou@yahoo.com
Objective:
To discuss the diagnosis and management of phleboliths in the dilated veins of a varicocele.
Design:
Case report.
Setting:
Two healthy patients in an academic andrology center.
Patient(S):
Two healthy patients undergoing evaluation and treatment of male factor infertility.
Intervention(S):
Ultrasonography and varicocele repair.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Improvement in male factor infertility.
Result(S):
One patient had a phlebolith diagnosed ultrasonographically by echogenicity and acoustic shadowing within a dilated vein of a varicocele. Another patient had a hard mass found within a dilated vein of a varicocele at the time of surgical repair.
Conclusion(S):
A hard rounded mass within a spermatic vein identified at surgery or sonographically within the veins of the spermatic cord should be considered a phlebolith. Decisions regarding treatment depend on clinical presentation.
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