Assessing pregnancy rates in the partners of men who undergo varicocele embolization and predictors of success.
Varicocele embolization is a useful addition to IVF when treating infertile men with varicoceles and associated oligoteratoasthenospermia, leading to pregnancy in about a quarter of their partners, researchers claim.  

Their study, of 223 infertile men aged between 18 and 50 years with at least one varicocele, also showed that those with high sperm motility before the procedure were most likely to achieve a pregnancy.

Varicocele embolization is a minimally invasive alternative to surgery that allows many patients to return to work the next day. During the procedure, a catheter is inserted at the groin and steered towards the varicocele guided by an X-ray. A tiny platinum coil is then inserted through the catheter.

Semen analysis performed on a sample (n = 173) of the patients 3 months after the procedure showed that the men’s sperm motility and sperm count had both significantly improved.

By 6 months, 26 percent of the couples (n = 45) reported a pregnancy, say Sebastian Flacke (Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA) and co-workers.
 
Hormone levels, varicocele grade, Doppler ultrasound findings, and other semen parameters showed no significant association with pregnancy rates. But sperm motility prior to the procedure was an “important” predictor of pregnancy, Flacke et al say.

Flacke said: “Venous embolization, a simple treatment using a catheter through the groin, can help to improve sperm function in infertile men.”

ORGYN.com