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Echo-Colour Doppler Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Varicocele

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Abstract

The relationship between varicocele and infertility has long been defined. About a third of the male patients undergoing evaluation for infertility present with a varicocele. Sixty male patients between 17 and 35 years of age (mean 25.6) were examined with a colour-doppler flow imaging system. The diameters of the veins in the pampiniform plexus were measured by gray-scale sonography.

Our findings were classified with regard to venous diameter, the existence or non-existence of reflux, the circumstances under which these findings were recorded (e.g. during normal respiration and standing position or during Valsalva manoeuvre and supine position). Finally our results suggest that: (a) the clinical significance of the presence of dilated veins or reflux during increased intraabdominal pressure and under similar circumstances should be regarded with caution; (b) positive findings during normal inspirium are highly significant (grades III and IV).

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Resim, S., Çek, M., Fazlioğlu, A. et al. Echo-Colour Doppler Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Varicocele. Int Urol Nephrol 31, 371–382 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007182304770

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007182304770

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