Late results after sclerotherapy of varicocele.

Percutaneous sclerotherapy is technically feasible in about 80% of patients with idiopathic varicocele. Persistence must be reckoned with in 3-5% of the cases. Sclerotherapy is a low-risk technique which can be applied on an outpatient basis in the vast majority of cases. In about 40% of the cases, an improvement of the fertility can be attained by raising the spermatozoal density; the total motility and morphology of the spermatozoa can only be slightly improved by this therapy. Percutaneous sclerotherapy is to be recommended as an alternative to surgery since it provides equally good results, is cheaper and causes hardly any complications.