An often-overlooked cause of infertility is a condition called varicocele in men.  This condition is associated with enlarged veins or varicosities involving the scrotum and testicle in men.  This is a common condition affecting 10% of males.  This percentage increases to 30% in male partners of an infertile couple.  The elevated venous pressure associated with this condition appears to affect the quality and quantity of sperm production.  Fixing this problem results in an improvement in sperm quantity and quality in over 80% of patients.  This condition can also cause chronic discomfort and can be associated with testicular atrophy (shrinkage) in adolescent males.

In the past, this procedure was treated with surgery.  Unfortunately, the recurrence rate of this problem is approximately 15% after surgery.  We offer an outpatient procedure that  is much less invasive.  Using small tubes or catheters manipulated inside the veins, we direct coils to block the veins causing the problem.  The success rate in the latest series is 96% and the procedure is virtually painless.  Recovery time is in a few hours instead of days and normal activities can be resumed the following day in most cases.