Effectiveness of laparoscopic varicocelectomy

Laparoscopic varicocelectomy is a new technique which has been described in a limited number of clinical reports. We reviewed the results of 46 patients undergoing laparoscopic repair of 75 varicoceles over a two-year period to assess the effectiveness of this operative technique. The internal spermatic artery was preserved in 80 percent of the varicoceles and two arteries were present in 5 percent. Our ability to preserve the internal spermatic artery improved significantly with the use of the intraoperative Doppler probe after the first six months of performing this operation (p < 0.01). Nineteen infertile patients had a minimum follow-up of twelve months with seminal improvement in 68 percent and a pregnancy rate of 26 percent. Complications occurred in 2 patients (4%), inferior epigastric vessel bleeding in one, and genitofemoral nerve injury in the other. There was one persistent varicocele (1%). Our results with laparoscopic varicocelectomy are comparable with those reported with standard open surgical approaches.