PERCUTANEOUS VENOGRAPHY AND EMBOLIZATION OF THE INTERNAL SPERMATIC VEIN BY SPRING COIL FOR TREATMENT OF THE LEFT VARICOCELE IN CHILDREN

The treatment of varicocele is controversial in boys and it is a contr ibuting factor to male infertility. Recently it has been proposed that early therapy of a varicocele during childhood or adolescence may imp rove the prognosis of fertility. The authors review their experience w ith the diagnosis and management of left varicocele in 20 pediatric pa tients 6 to 15 years old. All were managed under local anesthesia by s permatic venography and percutaneous transcatheter embolization of the internal spermatic vein with spring coils. All achieved satisfactory occlusion, and during the follow-up, from 13 years to 9 months, there was only one recurrence, noted in a patient 6 months after the procedu re. Complications were phlebitis of the pampiniform plexus, leading to swelling and erythema of the left scrotum, and mild flank pain; these symptoms resolved without sequelae. This is a safe and effective nons urgical method of obliterating varicoceles in children, with a low mor bidity rate and a short hospital stay. Copyright (C) 1995 by W.B. Saun ders Company