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In the world of male fertility, it has been recommended by the Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine to wait for an improvement in sperm parameters after a varicocele repair that is seen in approximately 2/3 of men. Researchers in Toronto, Canada decided to see if this claim held up in a group of Canadian men and published their work in January 2012.

Dr. Al Bakri and associates looked back at 100 men who had their varicoceles repaired with a baseline average sperm concentration of 18.2 million/mL. They watched how their sperm production improved over the first 6 months after the repair. They found that the average sperm concentration improved significantly by 3 months time. Moreover, waiting an additional 3 months did not seem to provide any additional improvement. Specifically the average sperm concentration improved by 53% at 3 months to 27.9 million/mL and by 38% at 6 months to 25.1 million/mL.

Bottomline: This novel research looking at the time line for improvement of sperm parameters after a varicocele repair needs to be confirmed; however, it does suggest that couples may be able to initiate alternate reproductive therapies such as inseminations or IVF by 3 to 6 months after a varicocele repair instead of waiting the previously recommended time of 12 months. Many thanks to this Canadian team for this exciting research which may help many couples better navigate their reproductive journey towards a building a healthy family.

Reference: Al Bakri 2012 J Urol 187: 227