BACKGROUND: Although the progress in diagnosis methods revealed a high incidence of infra-clinical varicocele, the clinical signification of this pathology is controversial. We compared left unilateral varicocelectomy to bilateral surgery in patients with left clinical varicocele associated to an infra-clinical right one.
METHODS: It is a retrospective study conducted between January 2007 and December 2015 concerning men followed for a varicocele related infertility (one-year or more primary infertility) with two altered sperm analysis (oligospermia and/or asthenospermia) and had a left clinical varicocele associated to right infra-clinical one detected at Doppler Ultrasound. Surgical techniques used were open surgery (sub-inguinal way), antegrade sclerotherapy and coelioscopy. All patients were reviewed with a 6 month post operatively spermogram and minimum follow up of 1 year.
RESULTS: Our study included 95 men. Thirty-five patients have had a unilateral left surgery (Group I) and 60 patients have had a bilateral surgical treatment (Group II). The pre-operative spermatic parameters (concentration and progressive mobility) were comparable for the 2 groups. After the surgical treatment, an improvement of these parameters was noted in all the patients without significant difference between the two groups regarding sperm concentration (24.07±9.36×106/mL Vs 23.29±3.88×106/mL) and their progressive mobility (30.47±9.04% Vs 32.39±9.54%). The spontaneous pregnancy rate was 22.8% for patients in group I and 26.6% for those in group II without any statistically difference (p=0.68).
CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of a right s infra-clinical varicocele, when combined with a left clinical varicocele, gave better results in terms of sperm parameters and spontaneous pregnancy than unilateral varicocelectomy but without statistically significant results.
METHODS: 3.

OBJECTIVE: Study the early postoperative course of sperm parameters after antegrade sclerotherapy (AS) of clinical left varicocele (CLV) in men consulting for infertility with sperm disruption, and to validate the efficacy and safety of treatment.
METHODS: Monocentric retrospective observational study of men with CLV, consultant in medically assisted procreation center for primary or secondary infertility of the couple. All patients were operated by SA via scrotal approach. After clinical and ultrasound checks at 6 weeks, a control spermogram was performed at 3-6 months of surgery. The following parameters were analyzed: sperm count, motility, percent of normal form, and total number of motile sperm (\"total motile sperm count\" [TMSC]).
RESULTS: The study involved 138 men (median age 33 years) with sperm alteration. All patients benefited from AS of their CLV. No Clavian complication > 1 was observed. Postoperative control demonstrated a significant improvement in all spermogram parameters, with a median progression of 40% of the count (55 vs 32×106), 80% of the concentration (20.3 vs 11.1×106/ml), 30% of the motility (34.7% vs 26.5%), 60% of the normal form percentage (4.0 vs 2.5%) and the 75% TMSC (41.5 vs 23%), 7×106) (p<0.005).
CONCLUSIONS: SA is an effective and safe technique for treating CLV and improving sperm parameters fertility indicators. Our results suggest that this treatment may be recommended to infertile men with CLV in the management of infertility of the couple.
METHODS: 3.

BACKGROUND: Subinguinal microscopic ligation is the current standard of treatment of varicocele, and percutaneous embolization is a new alternative. We aimed to compare these procedures for reproductive and functional aspects.
METHODS: A consecutive series of 76 patients with clinical varicocele, alteration of semen parameters and infertility, undergoing either procedure (microsurgery in 49 cases and embolization in 27 cases) was prospectively analyzed preoperatively and postoperatively (at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months). Outcome measures were: semen parameters, pregnancies, pain, side effects, recovery time and overall satisfaction. Subsequently, all patients were contacted by telephone in January 2015 (with a median delay of 4 years after the procedure) in order to determine reproductive events.
RESULTS: Preoperatively, both groups were identical for clinical and biological items. We observed an improvement of sperm concentration at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months (P<0.001, <0.001, 0.012, 0.018, respectively) and sperm motility at 6 months (P=0.002). The sperm concentration was higher at 6 months in PE group (P=0.043). With a median follow-up of 4 years after the procedure, 27 pregnancies occurred (spontaneous pregnancy rate of 32%). There was no difference between procedures on the sperm quality, pregnancy rate and the overall satisfaction. Patients undergoing percutaneous embolization reported a faster recovery time (P=0.002) and less postoperative pain (P=0.007).
CONCLUSIONS: Both procedures give equivalent results regarding sperm quality, pregnancy rate and satisfaction even though recovery seems faster and postoperative pain seems lower after percutaneous embolization.
METHODS: 4.

OBJECTIVE: The varicocele is a venous abnormality frequently found in humans (1/10). Although the recommendations for management of this pathology are clear, two therapeutic options can be discussed: surgery or radiological embolisation. We wanted to study the evolution of the therapeutic management of varicocele using the French national coding database.
METHODS: Analysis of database from the \"Agence technique de l\'information sur l\'hospitalisation\" (ATIH) (number of surgical procedures and interventional radiology used in the treatment of varicocele for the period 2006-2014). The common classification of medical procedures (CCAM) was used to extract the codes for surgery and radiological embolisation. Then we recorded the corresponding \"Groupes homogènes de malades\" (GHM), excluding those with a different primary diagnosis of varicocele cure.
RESULTS: The number of surgical procedures and radiological embolisation performed for the treatment of varicocele increased from 3626 to 4007 procedures (+10.5%) between 2006 and 2014. While the frequency of interventional radiology (embolization pampiniform plexus) increased by 73.9%, surgery procedures (by direct approach or laparoscopy) decreased by 31.4% throughout the study (2006-2014). Thus in 2006, 60.2% of therapeutic procedures were performed surgically and 39.8% by radiological embolisation. In 2014, 37.4% of therapeutic procedures were performed surgically and 62.6% by embolization.
CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of French national database has confirmed a change in the therapeutic management of varicocele between 2006 and 2014. The minimally invasive treatment by radiological embolisation is currently favored in France and surgery pushed into the background. In 2014, more than one therapeutic management out of two was performed in interventional radiology.
METHODS: 4.

Medical optimisation of sperm retrieval in non-obstructive azoospermia is reviewed. Gonadotropin treatment of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism allows obtaining sperms in the ejaculate in about 90% of cases provided the duration of treatment was long enough. TESE is indicated in case of persistent azoospermia at 2 years of continuous treatment. Some publications reported a possible effect of hormonal treatments (FSH, hCG, anti-estrogens, aromatase inhibitors) in primary spermatogenic failure, but mainly in cases selected for their favourable histology and normal hormonal levels. The effect on unselected cases remains doubtful. Conversely, the effect of the treatment of varicoceles is significant. Other medical treatments or advises need further investigations.

While the incidence of clinical varicocele is common in infertile men (about 40%), the reasons why varicocele may affect sperm parameters is still unclear. In addition, the improvement of fertility after treatment of varicocele is also a subject of debate. The purpose of this review is to get new insight into the physiopathology of varicocele, its impact on sperm parameters and the effectiveness of varicocele treatment on fertility. Treatment is likely to be effective in infertile men with clinical varicocele and impaired spermatogenesis. Even if it does not systematically lead to an improvement in sperm parameters, it may prevent further sperm degradation. In case of non-obstructive azoospermia, few studies reported a slight improvement in the process of spermatogenesis. The critical role of an adequate methodology in order to establish clinical guidelines needs to be stressed. Indeed, the huge intra-individual variability in sperm production makes the usual analysis of sperm parameters inadequate to measure treatment effectiveness. Regarding the assessment of conception, it requires not only well designed and properly sized studies but also a multivariate analysis for weighing predictive factors of success. Thus, an active scientific research is needed to better identify pathogenic agents and appropriately assess the impact of varicocele treatment.