[Surgical treatment of varicocele]

The correlation between varicocele and infertility has been established for many years. Authors expose their twelve years experience on surgical treatment of varicocele. 213 cases have been treated: 105 had infertility associated to varicocele and a microsurgical treatment has been performed. A high legature of spermatic vein has been applied to 108 patients with normal spermiogram (the last 6 by laparoscopic technique). In the case in which there is alteration of the spermiogram the microsurgical treatment seems more efficient for the sperm quality because it is more valuable in eliminating the venous stasis, and the operation Belgrano 1 seems to be the best compared to the others. Correlating the treatment efficiency to the simplicity of the application and to the treatment expense and reduced morbility we think it is advisable to treat the spermatic vein with laparoscopic ligature in patients with normal fertility indexes, even on the basis of our recent experience. Physiopathology, economic reasons and efficacy have been demonstrated.