A varicocele is the bulging of the veins inside the scrotum. These veins which are bulged are found along the cord which holds up a man’s testicles. The testicular blood vessels starts in the abdomen and come down through the inguinal canal as part of the spermatic cord on the way to the testis. Uphill flow of the blood in the veins was makes sure by a small one-way valve that prevents backflow. Imperfect valves, or compression of the vein by a nearby structure, may also cause dilatation of the testicular veins close to the testis, may leads to the formation of a varicocele. Varicocele is identified as one of the major causes for male infertility and it can be cured by a surgery or non-surgical treatments.
SYMPTOMS:
Symptoms of a varicocele may include:
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Visible or palpable (able to be felt) enlarged vein
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Alteration of testosterone levels
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Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and related urinary problems
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Dragging-like or aching pain within scrotum
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Feeling of heaviness in the testicles
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Atrophy (shrinking) of the testicles
CAUSES:
Varicoceles develop slowly in majority of the time. They are mostly seen in men age groups from 15 – 25 and are most frequently seen on the scrotum particularly on the left side.
Varicocele in aged man will appears unexpectedly and may be cause by a kidney cancer that may blocks blood flow to a vein. The problem is more common on the left rather than the right side.
DIAGNOSIS:
Varicoceles are quite simple to detect and diagnose by physical or diagnostic examination.
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95 % of varicoceles may found on the left side of the scrotum.
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The scrotum looks like a bag of worms.
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The testicles may be shrunken in size.
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If varicoceles are not able to detect by the above examination, then unusual blood flow can usually detected with a noninvasive imaging test it is called color flow ultrasound or by a venogram, it is a X-ray in which a particular dye is injected into the veins to highlight the blood vessel abnormalities.
