Introduction. Varicocele is one of the frequently identified and corrected causes of male subfertility. However, varicocele correction results in improved sperm quality only in 60 – 70% of subfertile men. At the same time, it is not completely clear which semen parameters improve to a greater extent, and what is the proportion ofpatients with an improvement in parameters to normozoospermia.Objectives. To assess qualitative changes in semen after microsurgical varicocelectomy according to WHO 2021 Laboratory manual of semen analysis.Materials & methods. This study analysed qualitative changes in sperm in infertile men after varicocelectomy. All patients had a clinical varicocele, for which microsurgical varicocelectomy was performed. The study included 100 subfertile men with varicocele and abnormal sperm parameters.Results. In the postoperative period (after 6 months), the main semen parameters increased significantly. Also, the proportion of patients with isolated asthenozoospermia decreased by 22% (p < 0.05), the proportion of patients with oligoasthenozoospermia decreased by 14% (p < 0.05). The proportion of patients with normospermia was 35% (p < 0.0001). In patients with oligoasthenozoospermia significant improvement in sperm to normospermia was observed in 19% of cases.Conclusions. Varicocele repair leads to an improvement in the quality of the ejaculate in subfertile men with palpable varicocele and pathozoospermia, with the most significant improvement in sperm motility. However, only in a third of patients semen quality improved to normal levels. Additionally, varicocelectomy demonstrated high efficacy in patients with oligoasthenozoospermia.

Оценка эффективности баллонной дилатации рубцового сужения шейки мочевого пузыря после трансуретральных вмешательств на предстательной железе (предварительные результаты)

Introduction. The problem of endoscopic treatment for urethral strictures and obliterations remains unresolved. It is necessary to note that the effectiveness depends not only on the right indications, but also on the surgical technique and the study of the postoperative period management.Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic treatment of patients with bulbar-membranous urethral obliteration.Materials and methods. The study included 103 patients aged 20 to 89 years with bulbar-membrane urethral obliteration, who, for some reason or another, cannot perform urethroplasty. The patients underwent endoscopic recanalization of the urethra under X-ray control with further circular transurethral electroresection (TUR) of the scar tissues in the urethral obliteration zone (after 6 – 7 days).Results. The average age of the patients was 61.1 ± 18.3 years. After the operation, self-urination was restored in all patients. The average maximum urine flow rate (Q max) before discharge from the hospital was 12.6 ± 0.5 ml/s. Throughout the follow-up period, Q max tended to increase and at the end of the study (36 months) reached values of 16.5 ± 0.5 ml/s. During the first year of follow-up, 18 (17.5%) patients developed recurrent urethral stricture. Seventeen (16.5%) patients underwent repeated circular TUR of scar tissue in the zone of recurrent stricture. The effectiveness of the treatment was 90.0%.Conclusion. Endoscopic urethral recanalization followed by TUR of scar tissue in the obliteration zone is an effective and safe method in the treatment of bulbar-membranous urethral obliteration with length less than 1.0 cm.

   Introduction. Varicocele is one of the main causes of subfertility in men with primary and secondary infertility.   Objective. In this study, we compared the initial semen parameters and the effectiveness of varicocelectomy in men with primary and secondary infertility.   Materials & methods. 100 men suffering from primary infertility (PI) and secondary infertility (SI) and having varicocelectomy were recruited. Patients were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 included 58 men with PI and the group 2 42 men with SI. Preoperative clinical characteristics and semen parameters before and after varicocelectomy were analyzed and compared between groups.   Results. Analysis revealed that the mean age of patients of the group 1 was significantly lower (p < 0,001) and duration of infertility was accurately shorter (p < 0,01) than those of group 2. Main semen parameters increased significantly in group I (e. g., sperm concentration increased by 50 %, from 62,2 ± 8,7 to 93,5 ± 10,0 M/ml and total motile sperm count increased by 113 %, from 76,7 ± 17,1 to 163,4 ± 27,8 M p < 0,05), while in group 2 only % of progressive motile sperm increased significantly (by 107 %, from 13,5 ± 2,6 to 28,0 ± 5,2 % p < 0,05). We identified significant difference in varicocelectomy efficacy between group 1 and group 2 in change of total motile sperm count (by 113 % vs. 74 % respectively, p < 0,01). We also revealed discrepancy between groups in correlation ratio (r) between initial and post-surgical percentage of progressive motile sperm.   Conclusions. Patients with SI were older and had longer infertility period. Varicocelectomy resulted in significant semen parameters improvement in patients with PI. In patients with SI only a percent of progressively motile sperm improved significantly. It shows that male age and infertility duration may negatively affect varicocelectomy outcomes in male subfertility treatment.