Effect of Varicocelectomy on Semen Parameters and Sperm Chromatin Status



Nasresfahani MH^{1, 2, 6} ; Razavi S⁴ ; Abbasi H^{2, 3} ; Alian FHM⁵ ; Haftbaradaran B⁵ ; Sadeghi M⁵ Show Affiliations
Source: Yakhteh Published:2005

Abstract

Introduction: Different methods have been used to evaluate the beneficial effect of varicocelectomy; these include semen parameters and pregnancy rate. Due to high biological variability of semen parameters, sperm functional test has been considered an efficient end point in assessment of fertility. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of varicocelectomy on semen parameters and sperm chromatin status. Material and Methods: Over a 2 year period a total of 35 patients were evaluated for protamine deficiency, presence of excessive histone, chromatin stability, ability of sperm to undergo decondensation by chromomycin A3, aniline blue staining, SDS, and SDS+EDTA respectively. Results: The results of this study showed that among semen parameters only sperm motility and sperm chromatin integrity showed significant improvement post surgery (P<0.05). The cumulative pregnancy rate was 25.7%. Comparing the results of the aforementioned parameters between patients whom became pregnant with those who did not benefit from varicocelectomy showed that patients may benefit from varicocelectomy that have improved sperm morphology, decreased sperm protamine deficiency and decreased presence of excessive histone at 3 months post surgery (P<0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that the initial values and 3 months post varicocelectomy values of some of these functional tests may help special foresee the outcome of surgery and may help in patient management.