Materials and Methods: Charts of couples consulting in an infertility clinic from 2008 to 2015 were reviewed. After applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, a total of 135 infertile men were included in the final analysis (mean age = 33.6 ± 5.7, range = [25, 58]. Sperm parameters (motility and sperm count) were categorized as "abnormal" if they were below the lower reference limit based on WHO 1999 criteria. Presence of varicocele was noted along with type of management. Pregnancy rate was the main outcome measure. 

Results: Prevalence of varicocele for the entire sample was 24.4%, with pregnancy rate of 15.2% after conservative treatment. Subjects without varicocele had 2.5 times higher chances of pregnancy than subjects with varicocele who underwent conservative treatment. For subject with normal sperm parameters, pregnancy rates of men with varicocele versus without varicoele were not significantly different. However, among subjects with abnormal sperm motility, sperm count and total motile sperm count (TMSC) of men with varicocele were TMSC significantly increased but  no sifnificant difference was observed in terms of motility. Pregnancy rate afte rvaricocelectomy was 26.3%, but with no sifnificant difference noted between men with normal sperm parameters versus abnormal sperm parameters at baseline. Pregnancy rate after conservative managemet of infertile men without varicocele was not significantly different from the pregnancy rate after varicocelectomy.

Conclusion: Infertile Filipino men who have normal and abnormal sperm parameters may have varicocele. Gynecologists and inferitlity specialist shoudl suspect vacricocele for unexplained male infertility with normal sperm parameters. Infertile Filipino men with varicocele and without varicocele benefited from conservative treatment. Varicocelectomysifnificantly improved the sperm parameters in terms of sperm count and total motile sperm count. Varicocelectomy showed similar beneficial effect as with treatment for other cause-specific treatment of male infertiltiy.

Varicocele ; Male Infertility ; Varicocelectomy