Semen Parameter Response to Varicocele Repair in Infertile Men With Cryptozoospermia

Greater than half of the men with cryptozoospermia that underwent varicocele repair improved semen parameters to be optimized for in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection or potentially lesser involved fertility treatments and obviated the need for surgical sperm retrieval. Neither patient age, serum follicle-stimulating hormone level, nor clinical grade of varicocele showed a statistically significant association with favorable vs unfavorable semen parameter response to varicocele repair in infertile men with preoperative cryptozoospermia. These data suggest that varicocele repair may be offered to infertile, cryptozoospermic men with palpable varicoceles.