Varicocele is essentially scrotum varicose veins. This health condition is marked by enlarged, twisted veins running along the spermatic cord of the scrotum, most often on the left side.
Your spermatic cord is the circulatory connection for the testicle, containing arteries, veins, nerves and tubes. Varicocele is caused by valve failure in scrotal veins that circulate blood out of the area. As such, blood pools causing veins to stretch, thus scrotum varicose veins appear.
Varicocele typically develops slowly and commonly occurs in the teenage through young adulthood years. Scrotum varicose veins can be a cause of infertility, yet not all cases of varicocele causes infertility.
In addition to noticeable varicose veins, varicocele can cause some other symptoms, like:
- scrotum heaviness
- dull testicular ache
- reduced size of testicle
Symptoms tend to crop up during hot weather, after vigorous exercise or long periods of sitting and standing.
Most cases of varicose veins on the scrotum won’t require treatment, as they are considered harmless. However, varicocele repair surgery treatment may be advised because of infertility or testicular atrophy.
Surgery to repair varicocele is called a varicocelectomy and it’s usually performed as an outpatient. This treatment involves a simple tie off to varicose veins so that blood will flow through your nearby healthy veins. Another treatment version of repair surgery is blocking the veins via plastic tube and coil. This surgery is known as varicocele embolization.
Recommended treatment for relief of pain or discomfort caused by scrotal varicose veins is by wearing a jock strap or snug underwear. An anti-inflammatory or analgesic may be needed should your pain persist. And as a last resort, repair surgery treatment might be the only recourse for your testicular ache.
Frequently, varicocele isn’t a cause for infertility nor testicular atrophy. And varicocele arising later in life may be caused by a kidney tumor, so if that is your case have your scrotum varicose veins checked by your health care provider ASAP.