Varicocele embolization is an advanced minimally invasive medical treatment that serves as an effective alternative to open surgery for treating enlarged veins in the scrotum. A varicocele is a common phenomenon where the veins draining blood from the testicle become dilated and twisted, similar to varicose veins in the legs, due to insufficiency of the valves within them. This condition can cause dull pain or discomfort in the testicle, a feeling of heaviness, and in many cases, even impair sperm production, leading to fertility issues in men. The goal of the treatment is to block the faulty vein where blood flow is abnormal, thereby diverting blood to other healthy veins in the pelvis and reducing pressure and congestion around the testicle.

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The procedure is performed in a catheterization room by an expert interventional radiologist. The patient is usually under local anesthesia at the puncture site and mild sedation, without the need for full general anesthesia. The physician inserts a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) through a tiny puncture in a vein in the groin or neck. Using advanced X-ray fluoroscopy guidance and contrast agent, the physician navigates the catheter through the venous system until precisely reaching the problematic main testicular vein. At this point, tiny metallic coils or a special sclerosing agent (medical foam) are introduced through the catheter, causing deliberate and controlled blockage of the vein. Stopping the retrograde blood flow in this vein leads to the gradual disappearance of the varicocele and symptom relief.