RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Varicocele is a common problem with a high prevalence in population with primary and secondary infertilities. The adverse effects of varicocele on spermatogenesis and fertility are known, but the association between clinical varicocele and testosterone is not clear. Hence, we decided to evaluate the serum levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in patients with varicocele after varicocelectomy. METHODS: In this study, 100 patients with varicocele were divided into two groups: hypogonadal patients with testosterone level <280 ng/dL and eugonadal patients with testosterone level >280 ng/dL. The serum levels of testosterone, FSH, and LH were measured before surgery and 3 months after surgery, and the results were analyzed using the SPSS software. P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Patients with varicocele after puberty till 50 years were divided into two groups: hypogonadal (testosterone <280 ng/dL) and eugonadal (testosterone >280 ng/dL) patients who required varicocelectomy. The mean testosterone level before surgery in hypogonadal patients was 215.22±83.31 ng/dL, which reached 326.95±35.125 ng/dL after surgery (P<0.0001), which was significant. There was no significant decrease in the mean FSH level, but there was a significant decrease in the mean LH level after varicocelectomy. In eugonadal group, testosterone level before surgery was 471.90±145.71 ng/dL, which reached 469.57±145.61 ng/dL after surgery, which was not significant. CONCLUSION: In our study, patients who underwent varicocelectomy had improved testosterone levels, so that this increase was more significant in hypogonadal patients than in eugonadal patients. Decrease in LH and FSH levels in all patients was seen after varicocelectomy, which can be due to increase in testosterone levels.
