PERCUTANEOUS VARICOCELE EMBOLIZATION VERSUS SURGICAL LIGATION FOR THETREATMENT OF INFERTILITY - CHANGES IN SEMINAL PARAMETERS AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES

PURPOSE: To compare the success of percutaneous varicocele embolizatio n to surgical ligation with regard to changes in semen characteristics and pregnancy outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Infertility records fro m 346 men who underwent correction of their varicocele for infertility (surgical ligation 149; embolization 197) were reviewed retrospective ly. Preprocedural and postprocedural semen analyses and pregnancy outc omes were obtained with use of chart and telephone follow-up. RESULTS: In men who successfully impregnated their partners, there were signif icant improvements in sperm density, percent total improvement, motili ty, and progression, Postprocedural (embolization vs surgery) percenta ge increases in seminal parameters were density, 156.8% versus 138.5%; total, 168.8% versus 157.9%; and motility, 2.7% versus 3.2%, The perc ent of individuals who had a change in sperm progression was 31% versu s 41%, There was no statistical difference between the techniques base d on t tests, The pregnancy rates were similar for the two groups, 39% and 34% for embolization and surgery, respectively. CONCLUSION: There is no significant statistical difference in seminal values or pregnan cy outcome between the two techniques.