Reduction in testicular temperature after varicocelectomy in infertile men.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
OBJECTIVES: To study the effects of varicocelectomy on testicular temperature. METHODS: Testicular skin surface temperature was directly measured with an electronic thermometer calibrated to 0.01 degree C in 119 men before and after microsurgical varicocelectomy and in 45 control patients without varicocele. RESULTS: Testicular temperatures in men with varicocele were elevated preoperatively (right side [R]: 34.00 +/- 0.91 degrees C/left side [L]: 34.37 +/- 0.87 degrees C unilateral; R: 34.07 +/- 0.83 degrees C/L: 34.34 +/- 0.85 degrees C bilateral) relative to control patients (R: 33.04 +/- 2.47 degrees C/L: 32.86 +/- 2.52 degrees C) (P < 0.01). Postoperative temperatures were unchanged in the control patients. Testicular temperatures decreased after both bilateral and unilateral varicocelectomy (R: 33.03 +/- 0.85 degrees C/L: 32.84 +/- 1.0 degrees C unilateral; R: 33.27 +/- 1.0 degrees C/L: 33.54 +/- 1.2 degrees C bilateral) to levels nearly identical to those of control patients (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Testicular temperatures were elevated bilaterally in men with both unilateral and bilateral varicoceles. Both unilateral and bilateral microsurgical varicocelectomy results in a bilateral decrease in testicular temperature. These results support the hypothesis that a defect in testicular thermoregulation contributes to the pathophysiology of varicocele and demonstrate, for the first time in humans, the efficacy of varicocelectomy in restoring normal testicular temperatures.
