What the 1982 researchers suspected, but couldn’t fully prove, was that testicular hypotrophy was a proxy for deeper injury. Over the following decades, we learned that the stagnant, heated venous blood in a varicocele raises intratesticular temperature by 1–2°C — enough to impair spermatogenesis and Leydig cell function.
The operation in 1982 was an open inguinal varicocelectomy (the Ivanissevich technique) — effective, but with a 10–15% risk of hydrocele or recurrence. Today’s pediatric urologist has better tools: varikotsele u detey %281982%29