Central European Journal of Urology

Clinical varicoceles are present in approximately 15 % of the general male population. The majority of men with varicoceles are asymptomatic and fer-tile, and only 15–20 % of them are experiencing some physical discomfort or fertility problems [1]. Varico-celes frequently appear during early puberty and are recognized to be easily corrected with surgery. There is the hypothesis that the presence of varicoceles is associated with progressive testicular damage, in-cluding testis hypotrophy from adolescence onwards, and consequent reduction in fertility. The authors emphasized the negative role of varico-celes on testicular growth during puberty. However, their results show that mean left testicular volume did not differ among subjects with second or third grad