Thank you for choosing our group of doctors and staff for your Urology needs. In order for us to better serve you, below is a checklist of things to know and bring to your first appointment. If you do not have the paperwork filled out prior to your appointment, please arrive 15 minutes early to complete in the office. If you do not have the paperwork filled out prior to your appointment time then your appointment will be rescheduled to another date.

Urology Specialists of Ohio has been a committed part of the Springfield community for more that 10 years, and now serves Springfield, Beavercreek, London, Xenia, and Urbana striving to improve the medical community, with excellence in all areas of urology.

Our goals are to provide state of the art medical treatment for patients with genitourinary problems. We provide this in the most compassionate and cost effective way possible. We take pride in providing excellent care with attention to detail and respect in a friendly atmosphere.

Treatment

A jock strap or snug underwear may help ease discomfort. You may need other treatment if the pain does not go away or you develop other symptoms.

Surgery to correct a varicocele is called varicocelectomy. For this procedure:

• You will receive some type of numbing medicine (anesthesia).
• The urologist will make a cut, most often in the lower abdomen, and tie off the abnormal veins. This directs blood flow in the area to the normal veins. The operation may also be done as a laparoscopic procedure (through small incisions with a camera).
• You will be able to leave the hospital on the same day as your surgery.
• You will need to keep an ice pack on the area for the first 24 hours after surgery to reduce swelling.
• An alternative to surgery is varicocele embolization. For this procedure:
• A small hollow tube called a catheter (tube) is placed into a vein in your groin or neck area.
• The provider moves the tube into the varicocele using x-rays as a guide.
• A tiny coil passes through the tube into the varicocele. The coil blocks blood flow to the bad vein and sends it to normal veins.
• You will need to keep an ice pack on the area to reduce swelling and wear a scrotal support for a little while.

This method is also done without an overnight hospital stay. It uses a much smaller cut than surgery, so you will heal faster.

Outlook (Prognosis)

A varicocele is often harmless and often does not need to be treated, unless there is a change in the size of your testicle.

If you have surgery, your sperm count will likely increase. However, it will not improve your fertility. In most cases, testicular wasting (atrophy) does not improve unless surgery is done early in adolescence.

Possible Complications

Infertility is a complication of varicocele.

Complications from treatment may include:

• Atrophic testis
• Blood clot formation
• Infection
• Injury to the scrotum or nearby blood vessel