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Varicocele and Male Infertility pp 387–394Cite as

Is There a Role for Testicular Biopsy in Men with Varicocele?

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Abstract

Current studies suggest that infertile men with nonobstructive azoospermia and varicocele may benefit from varicocele repair, which may result in recovery of sperm in the ejaculate or improved surgical sperm retrieval rates. Testicular biopsy prior to repair has been advocated for these men on the basis that certain testicular histopathologic patterns (hypospermatogenesis and maturation arrest) may be more predictive of a favorable outcome than others (Sertoli cell-only). However, there are limitations of testicular biopsy, including the variation in technique and inability to predict the composition of the entire testis and the fact that results of biopsy may not change clinical management no matter the outcome. Ultimately, the decision to pursue or omit testicular biopsy for men with concurrent nonobstructive azoospermia and varicocele will depend on the goals and preferences of the couple.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    David Guo & Kathleen Hwang

  2. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Rhode Island and the Miriam Hospitals/Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Ali Amin

Authors
  1. David Guo
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  2. Ali Amin
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  3. Kathleen Hwang
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. ANDROFERT, Andrology & Human Reproduction Clinic, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Sandro C Esteves

  2. S.H. Ho Urology Centre, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Chak-Lam Cho

  3. Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar, Doha, Qatar

    Ahmad Majzoub

  4. Department of Urology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Ashok Agarwal

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Guo, D., Amin, A., Hwang, K. (2019). Is There a Role for Testicular Biopsy in Men with Varicocele?. In: Esteves, S., Cho, CL., Majzoub, A., Agarwal, A. (eds) Varicocele and Male Infertility. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79102-9_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79102-9_33

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-79101-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-79102-9

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