Clinical experience with the radioisotope varicocele scan as a screening method for the detection of subclinical varicoceles

Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1982 · J. Urol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6705132

Wheatley, J K; Fajman, W A; Witten, F R

The association of varicoceles and subfertility has been well documented. Although varicoceles remain the most common surgically correctable cause of male infertility the diagnosis of small varicoceles remains a challenge. We evaluated 40 men with an isotope blood pooling scan. Seven volunteers served as either positive or negative controls. Complete correlation between physical findings and the isotope scan was found. The 6 patients with obvious clinical varicoceles and a stress pattern on semen analysis all had positive scans. The 18 patients with a stress pattern and who were clinically suspected of having a varicocele all had positive scans. Of 9 patients evaluated for infertility with a stress pattern but no clinical evidence of varicocele 6 had positive scans. We believe that the isotope scan will prove to be a useful procedure in the detection of nonpalpable varicoceles in selected subfertile men.

• Research Organization: Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
• OSTI ID: 6705132
• Journal Information: J. Urol.; (United States), Vol. 128:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
MALE GENITALS
SCINTISCANNING
TECHNETIUM 99
DIAGNOSTIC USES
UROGENITAL SYSTEM DISEASES
DIAGNOSIS
ERYTHROCYTES
FERTILITY
ISOMERIC NUCLEI
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
MEN
PATIENTS
REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BLOOD CELLS
BODY
BODY FLUIDS
COUNTING TECHNIQUES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISEASES
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MALES
MAMMALS
MAN
MATERIALS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANS
PRIMATES
RADIOISOTOPE SCANNING
RADIOISOTOPES
TECHNETIUM ISOTOPES
USES
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
550601* - Medicine- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
550901 - Pathology- Tracer Techniques