Varicocele embolization

An interventional radiology (IR) procedure, done at a hospital

Your urologist has counselled you on varicocele embolization during your consultation. You will be referred to a hospital for your procedure.

What to expect

  1. Once the hospital receives your referral for the procedure, they will contact you with the appointment date and time and give you basic preparation instructions.
  2. The day before the procedure: the hospital’s IR nurse will call or meet with you for a pre-procedure interview, explain the preparation and procedure in more detail, and answer any questions.
  3. The day of the procedure: you will check in at medical imaging, the nurse will prepare you, and the procedure will be performed. You will stay in IR recovery for 2–3 hours afterwards. An IR nurse will give you post-procedure instructions before discharge.

The hospital will contact you directly with the information above and anything else you need, such as booking details, what to do before your procedure, and what to expect on the day.

About the procedure

The hospital’s IR team will also give you this information.

  • It is an outpatient procedure at the hospital.
  • It is done under local anesthetic with mild sedation.
  • You will be discharged home 4 hours after the procedure.
  • No heavy lifting or strenuous exercise for a day or two after the procedure.
  • Intercourse is okay after 24 hours.
  • You cannot drive home after the procedure, and you cannot take public transit, a taxi or a rideshare home. You must be accompanied by a friend or family member.
  • The procedure uses the right jugular vein approach.
  • The IR team will insert embolization coils made of nitinol. They are harmless, do not set off X-ray detectors, and are safe for MRI.
  • The procedure has a 95% clinical and technical success rate.
  • Complications such as bleeding (at the neck puncture or retroperitoneal) are rare, at less than 2%.