Microsurgical varicocelectomy for intratesticular varicocele with a history of orchiopexy for undescended testis

Abstract

Introduction We report a case series of six patients with a chief complaint of infertility who underwent microsurgical varicocelectomy for intratesticular varicocele (ITV) after undergoing orchiopexy for undescended testis in their childhood. Case presentation The patients' median age was 34 years. The median age at which orchiopexy was performed was 4.5 years. All the cases of ITV were accompanied by extratesticular varicocele (ETV). All the patients underwent a microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy. At 3 months after operation, the ITV and ETV had disappeared in all the cases. Sperm density and motility increased in five and four patients, respectively. Conclusion ITV occurs at a relatively high frequency after orchiopexy for undescended testis. Disorder of the valvular function of the testicular vein in peeling the testicular vessels was thought to be a primary cause and is often found on the left side. Doppler ultrasonography of the testis is considered important for diagnosis.

Keywords

• cryptorchidism
• intratesticular varicocele
• orchiopexy
• undescended testis
• varicocelectomy