Right varicocelectomy in selected infertile patients who have failed to improve after previous left varicocelectomy

In the past 8 years we found 41 infertile men with poor semen quality in whom an overlooked right varicocele might have been the reason for failure to improve after previous left varicocelectomy. None had ever fathered a child. After we performed sequential right varicocelectomy in these 41 patients, semen quality improved in 23 (56%). Twenty-seven pregnancies have been achieved to date by the wives of 18 (43%) of the patients whose semen improved. No pregnancies were caused by those whose semen failed to improve. Infertile men should be carefully examined for varicoceles on both sides, and bilateral varicocelectomy should be performed when indicated. Selected infertile patients who have failed to improve after left varicocelectomy and are found subsequently to have a right varicocele may yet improve following correction of the right varicocele.