Preoperative and Intraoperative Scrotal Duplex Ultrasound in the Assessment of Varicocele: A Comparative Study

Background: This study aimed to compare the accuracy of preoperative and intraoperative scrotal duplex ultrasound (SDU) in assessing varicocele, a common cause of male subfertility. Methods and Results: The study was conducted on 20 male patients scheduled for subinguinal varicocelectomy at a tertiary care hospital from March 2022 to March 2023. We used grey scale ultrasound and Doppler ultrasound to evaluate testicular size, vein diameter, arterial flow parameters, and retrograde flow. We found that the preoperative SDU was a good and accurate method for assessing the grading of varicocele, and there was no significant difference in vein diameter or venous reflux between preoperative and intraoperative assessments. However, we observed a significant increase in the number of veins and testicular volume during intraoperative SDU compared to preoperative SDU. Conclusion: Scrotal duplex ultrasound is a reliable tool for determining testicular volume and provides objective, accurate, and reproducible measurements of testicular volume.