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Imaging and Other Diagnostic Modalities in Varicocele Diagnosis

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Varicocele and Male Infertility

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Abstract

The diagnosis of varicocele is generally based on medical history and clinical examination. Imaging modalities have been used as an adjunct to confirm or clarify the diagnosis in situations where history and clinical examination are indeterminate. Treatment of clinically nonpalpable varicoceles, that is, those only diagnosed on imaging, has shown no benefit in improving fertility rates and is not recommended in guidelines. This has led to a limited role for imaging in the investigation of subclinical varicoceles. Technological advances in available imaging studies may potentially expand the role of imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of varicoceles. This chapter provides a review of the available imaging modalities for varicoceles.

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Abbreviations

CT:

Computed tomography

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted imaging

ADC:

Apparent diffusion coefficient

US:

Ultrasonography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA

    Muhannad M. Alsyouf, Phillip K. Stokes & Edmund Y. Ko

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  1. Muhannad M. Alsyouf
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  2. Phillip K. Stokes
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  3. Edmund Y. Ko
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muhannad M. Alsyouf .

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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Alsyouf, M.M., Stokes, P.K., Ko, E.Y. (2019). Imaging and Other Diagnostic Modalities in Varicocele Diagnosis. 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_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-79102-9_11

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