Varicocele

DH had his next Urologist appointment on Feb 14th (Happy Valentine's Day!) They performed an ultrasound and then went over the results.  They informed him that they had found a grade 1 varicocele.

What Is a Varicocele?

Varicoceles are a relatively common condition (affecting approximately 10 percent of men) that tends to occur in young men, usually during the second or third decade of life. Sometimes, these varicoceles cause no symptoms and are harmless. But sometimes a varicocele causes pain or atrophy (shrinkage), or fertility problems.
Normally, blood flows to the testicles through an artery, and flows out via a network of tiny veins that drain into a long vein that goes up through the abdomen. The direction of blood flow in this vein should always be up, toward the heart. A series of one-way valves in the vein prevent the reverse flow of blood back to the testicles.

What Causes Varicoceles?

These one-way valves sometimes fail. The reverse flow of blood stretches and enlarges the tiny veins around the testicle to cause a varicocele, a tangled network of blood vessels, or varicose veins.

This news is just what we were hoping for.  This is something that can be fixed and we can hopefully move on to having our children naturally.  DH was also very happy.  I didn't think he would be happy that he had to have surgery but he is glad they found a possible cause and can fix it.

He had two choices for surgery - Varicocele micro surgery or Varicocele Embolization.  The doctor told him the pros and cons and he decided to go with the micro surgery.  It is more invasive but has a higher success rate.  His surgery is scheduled for May 10th.