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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Combined Supine and Standing Imaging for Varicocele: An Improved Diagnostic Approach
Published on: November 22, 2024
Sperm chromatin condensation in infertile men with varicocele before and after surgical repair
Ahmed Sadek1, Abdel Shakour A Almohamdy, Amr Zaki
1Department of Dermatology and Andrology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Objective:
To assess sperm chromatin integrity in infertile men with varicocele before and after surgical repair.
Design:
Prospective.
Setting:
Academic setting.
Patient(S):
Seventy-two infertile men with varicocele compared with 20 healthy fertile men.
Intervention(S):
History taking, genital examination, semen analysis, sperm chromatin condensation assessment by aniline blue stain before and 3 months after varicocelectomy.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Stained sperm heads (abnormal chromatin condensation) before and 3 months after varicocelectomy.
Result(S):
The mean percentage of aniline blue-stained sperm heads was significantly higher in infertile men with varicocele compared with fertile controls. The mean percentage of stained sperm heads was significantly decreased in infertile men with varicocele 3 months after surgery compared with the preoperative data. There was a significant negative correlation between percentage of stained sperm heads and normal morphology where nonsignificant correlation was elicited regarding sperm count and sperm motility.
Conclusion(S):
There is a significant increase of abnormal sperm chromatin condensation in infertile men with varicocele that is markedly improved after varicocelectomy.
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