LAPAROSCOPIC LIGATURE OF THE SPERMATIC VEINS - A COMPARISON BETWEEN OUTPATIENT AND HOSPITALIZED TREATMENT

The preferable operation for varicocele is ligation of all venous trun ks of the spermatic vein above the internal orifice of the inguinal ca nal, traditionally performed by a retroperitoneal approach. An alterna tive method is laparoscopic ligature of the spermatic veins. To evalua te this procedure and to see if it can be done on an outpatient basis, 24 patients were operated upon laparoscopically. The patients were al located to two series, one scheduled to be operated upon on an outpati ent basis and one hospitalised. In 22 out of 24 patients the varicocel e had disappeared completely at follow-up 1-3 months after the operati on. Three of the patients operated upon late during the day in the out patient group had to stay overnight. No complications occurred. The co sts were more than 50% lower in the outpatient group. Laparoscopic lig ature of the spermatic veins seems to be an attractive way to treat va ricoceles, with good postoperative results and, if performed on an out patient basis, with a substantial reduction of costs.