Significant decrease in sperm deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation after varicocelectomy.

OBJECTIVE To measure sperm DNA integrity values before and after varicocelectomy in patients with elevated preoperative levels of sperm DNA fragmentation. DESIGN Retrospective. SETTING Private urology clinic. PATIENT(S) Eleven patients with grade 1, 2, or 3 varicocele. INTERVENTION(S) Varicocelectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Sperm DNA fragmentation values were assessed before and after varicocelectomy. RESULTS(S) Ninety percent of the patients showed a significant decrease in sperm DNA fragmentation levels. CONCLUSIONS(S) Although this study was small, 10 of the 11 patients with varicocele showed a significant decrease in sperm DNA fragmentation after varicocele repair. Elevated sperm DNA fragmentation has been shown to have a significant negative effect on pregnancy outcome with use of in vivo, IUI, routine IVF, and to a lesser extent intracytoplasmic sperm injection fertilization; therefore pregnancy outcome may improve after varicocelectomy.