Should I have Varicocele Embolisation?
"I was pleased to review the patient. He is still troubled with intermittent pain and discomfort felt in the left hemiscrotum. He cannot detect any other abnormality. The ultrasound performed concurs with that performed in the other medical facility, showing a mild degree of microcalcification on both testes but with no focal lesion and almost certainly of little import. There is a little excess fluid on each side, around the testes, of no worry, and there is confirmed to be a refluxing left scrotal varicocele. Given his background, I think a period of observation would be best before contemplating therapeutic embolisation to the left testicular vein, about which he has with a radiologist in detail. This certainly would be the best option of treatment if that were to be carried out and is performed as a day case under local anaesthetic and is generally successful. However there is a roughly 5% incidence of recurrence of a varicocele, problems with migration of coils, which is some