Microsurgical varicocelectomy (MVC) is the current gold standard for the treatment of varicocele. Studies have shown that MVC can bring certain clinical benefits to patients with varicocele and male infertility. In today’s era of assisted reproduction, MVC is clinical used usually to improve ART outcomes before treatment with assisted reproductive technology (ART). This article summarizes the efficacy evaluation and cost-effectiveness of MVC combined with ART. Although there is a lack of prospective evidence supporting MVC before ART, many large retrospective studies have shown that operating MVC before using ART may improve ART outcomes. However, large-scale and standardized clinical trials are still needed to further verify the effectiveness and feasibility of MVC before ART.
Varicocele (VC) is one of the common diseases of the male genitourinary system, and its incidence is higher in young adults. Among them, 80%-98% of VC are more likely to occur in the left spermatic vein. Previous research has found that VC could affect the temperature of the local microenvironment of the testis, oxidative stress process in the spermatogenic environment, mitochondrial function of sperm, endocrine system, and apoptosis of testes and epididymal cells. Therefore, VC will have an important impact on spermatogenic process of the testicles to cause male infertility. However, the specific molecular mechanism of VC affecting male spermatogenesis has not been fully studied. Therefore, this article will review the effect and mechanism of VC on testicular spermatogenesis.