[Varicocele and hypofertility. Results of 220 cases. Postoperative results]

Having studied 220 varicocelectomies which were performed by a method already described, we have been able to correlate the degree of varicocele present with testicular atrophy, with a rise in the plasma LH and with the severity of the histological lesions found. In 52.3% of cases there was a higher concentration of sperms present. Above all if the motility was less than 30% beforehand it improved most. 120 patients were reviewed. 43 (35%) became fertile. These was no difference in the improvement in the spermograms between those who were operated on who stayed infertile and those that become fertile. Thermography is not a reliable test: there were 35 poor correlations out of 107 patients. These was no correlation between the size of the varicocele, the gradient of the temperature and the biological abnormalities as against the concentration, the mobility and teratospermia.