Summary
Forty-five male patients presenting with subfertility and a varicocoele underwent surgical ligation of the internal spermatic vein between 1980 and 1987. Variation was wide but the median sperm density and motility were increased after surgery (p<0001). Thirty-eight per cent of couples established pregnancies after surgery. Sperm motility had increased in those who established a pregnancy. A proportion of patients with varicocoeles may benefit from surgery.