Clinical value of scrotopenogram for evaluating varicocele and erectile dysfunction

While there is as yet no established theory regarding a possible relationship between varicocele and erectile failure, it is not uncommon to encounter those cases in which two conditions coexist clinically. We describe a new technique to identify these two conditions by a single injection of radioisotope. In scrotopenogram, varicocele is diagnosed by comparing the radioactivity in each hemiscrotum during the five minutes after injection of radioisotope. Then, after the patient is exposed to audiovisual sexual stimulation, the dynamic penile flow is measured for the next thirty minutes. We evaluated 185 impotent patients and 9 patients with varicocele. In the 185 erectile failure patients, varicoceles were also present in 33 (17.8%). In the 9 patients who presented themselves chiefly with varicoceles, 3 (33.3%) also had erectile failure. Thus, in 194 patients 36 (18.5%) cases of combined conditions were identified by the scrotopenogram technique. We believe this new technique could be an alternative method for noninvasively examining impotent patients with varicoceles.