Male Infertility - Varicocele

If the doctor identifies the presence of a varicocele you are fortunate in that it is very likely that the condition, and hence your fertility, can be corrected.

The presence of a varicocele is probably the most commonly identified, correctable abnormality, that is associated with male infertility. A varicocele is an abnormal dilatation of the testicular veins and around 15% of healthy fertile men in the general population have a detectable varicocele. In the infertile population, up to 40% of men have been found to have a varicocele so there seems to be an association with infertility. Evidence suggests that varicoceles cause progressive damage so whilst a young man with varicocele may be fertile it is possible that his fertility will decline with time.