SynthesisInternational urology and nephrology2016
Who will benefit from surgical repair for painful varicocele: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in International urology and nephrology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Observation or treatment of paediatric varicoceles: revisiting the evidence.Nature reviews. Urology · 2026Review
- Microscopic surgery for the repair of painful varicocele- efficacy and predictors of successful outcomes.Basic and clinical andrology · 2025Article
- The Andrological Landscape in the Twenty-First Century: Making Sense of the Advances in Male Infertility Management for the Busy Clinicians.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
- Article
- Clinical effectiveness of microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy with enhanced recovery after surgery for varicocele.Translational andrology and urology · 2021Article
- How Can We Predict a Successful Outcome after Varicocelectomy in Painful Varicocele Patients? An Updated Meta-Analysis.The world journal of men's health · 2021Article
- Should we expand the indications for varicocele treatment?Translational andrology and urology · 2017Review
- The Dilemma of Adolescent Varicoceles: Do They Really Have to Be Repaired?Current urology reports · 2017Review
- Varicocelectomy for scrotal pain: Is it effective?Urology annalsArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo determine the efficacy of different surgical approaches and techniques for resolving varicocele-related pain and factors that predict surgical outcomes.
methodsThe PubMed and Embase databases were searched with the terms "varicocele", "varicocelectomy" and "pain". Manual searches by reviewing the references of included studies were performed. Studies were included when they focused on the influence of varicocele grade, pain quality, different surgical approaches or techniques on pain resolution. A meta-analysis was conducted with RevMan5.3 software.
resultsTwelve studies were identified in the analysis. No significant correlation was found between varicocele grade and pain resolution (P > 0.05). The resolution rate for dull pain was significantly higher than sharp pain [RR = 1.11, 95 % CI (1.02, 1.22), P = 0.02], and there were no other significant differences between the qualities of pain and pain resolution. The pain resolution rate was significantly higher after subinguinal varicocelectomy than after high or inguinal varicocelectomy [RR = 0.83, 95 % CI (0.76, 0.90), P < 0.00001 and RR = 0.92, 95 % CI (0.86, 0.99), P = 0.02]. The pain resolution rate was significantly higher after microsurgery than after laparoscopic varicocelectomy [RR = 0.77, 95 % CI (0.60, 0.99), P = 0.04].
conclusionSubinguinal varicocelectomy and microsurgical varicocelectomy are efficacious for resolving varicocele-related pain compared to other approaches and techniques. Pain quality is a factor that predicts surgical outcomes while varicocele grade is not. Additional controlled studies are warranted to clearly define this clinical problem.
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