Varicocele Surgery Costs

Last Updated on December 27, 2023
Written by CPA Alec Pow | Content Reviewed by CFA Alexander Popinker

Amongst younger men, typically in their 20s and 30s, varicocele is a very common condition to be found, a condition that leads to the shrinking of the testies, typically resulting in fertility problems.

Usually, the blood circulation going to the testies through the arteries and veins will end up being obstructed, usually leading to pain and discomfort, more often than not seen in the left testy.

What triggers the condition?

Specialists believe the real cause behind varicoceles is damaged veins typically discovered in the testicular sack situated above the testies. When this will happen, the blood circulation is affected, ultimately shrinking the testies, triggering a lot of pain discomfort, and even infertility issues for a lot of males.

You might also like our articles about the cost of a vasectomy, a vasectomy reversal, or a condom.

Normally, the reason for this issue is typically higher-than-average blood pressure, which, in essence, can be due to a myriad of factors.

Just how much does varicocele surgical treatment cost?

The expense of varicocele surgical treatment will considerably depend upon a number of elements, including your geographical area, the surgeon performing your surgery, where the surgical treatment is taking place, the unexpected additions in your expense, and your medical insurance policy, among others.

From the reports we saw online from third-party sources, the expense for varicocele surgery can vary anywhere from just $3,000 to more than $8,000 with no insurance protection, however, these expenses might considerably increase if you were to need particular pre-operative tests and if you get different expenses from specialists who helped throughout the surgery. We will speak about this in in the next part of the article.

When it comes to medical insurance coverage, the results are pretty much mixed. According to an online forum thread on BabyCenter.com, for instance, a forum member mentioned that their partner was diagnosed with bilateral varicoceles, and according to his urologist, the insurance coverage could cover one side but certainly not the other, also noting their insurance plan will not cover anything that has to do with infertility. One forum member who replied to the thread stated her insurance plan covered a small portion of the treatment for her spouse and needed to pay a $5,852 cost after their insurance provider paid $348, while another noted that the entire treatment ended up costing $5,000, with them only accountable for paying $2,500.

To know for sure if your insurance policy will cover any of it, it’s a good idea to get the billing CPT code ahead of time from your doctor’s office to ask your insurance provider what your responsibility might be in terms of financials. As there are a lot of medical insurance plans on the market, it’s pretty difficult to get a clear answer on whether or not the surgery would be covered, however, from the looks of it, there is a great chance the insurance provider might pay just a small portion of it.

According to an extensive review on one theBump.com forum thread, the reviewer noted that the actual surgical treatment was $847, just after they met their deductible. This cost did not consist of the extra anesthesiologist expenses ($3091.50) and doctor fees ($1,976).

The additional expenses to think about

All centers will bill in a different way, and based upon our online research, there could be extra tests you might need to get ready for, budgeting-wise, in addition to surcharges you will notice, aside from the surgical treatment itself, consisting of:

HSG screening for your loved one: $1,000-$2,000
Fertility drugs: $25-$50+
Testicular sack ultrasound: $300-$500
Seminal analysis: $200-$ 400
Testosterone test blood work: $300-$500
Anesthesiologist: $1,200-$3,000+, depending upon surgical treatment duration
Extra medical professional cost: $1,000-$ 2,000+

The treatment explained

First off, your doctor will want to check the problem to ensure the varicocele is the real issue. Normally, carrying out a regular test, ultrasound, thermography, and/or other associated tests, can aid to find out the locations with the pooled blood, helping the physician figure out the next course of action.

Varicocele surgical treatment, being the most typical treatment option, includes basic anesthesia, frequently carried out in an outpatient setting, however, in uncommon cases, local anesthesia might be utilized as well. Throughout the treatment, the surgeon will make a minor cut, less than an inch, over the testicular sack tissue in order to access the veins. Next, once the veins are exposed, they are ligated to aid to increase blood circulation. This is frequently described as open surgery.

Depending upon the preference of your surgeon, nevertheless, they might utilize a laparoscope during the treatment, which aids the surgeon insert tubs as they utilize a camera to find the bad veins to help clip or tie off the veins. This surgical treatment, described as a laparoscopic surgery, is likewise carried out under basic anesthesia in an outpatient setting.

The whole treatment will take anywhere from 3 to 4 hours.

The recovery process

Varicocele signs

Varicocele surgery negative effects

Tips to keep in mind

Another popular treatment, if you wished to prevent the surgical treatment, would be a varicocele embolization.

Stats have actually shown that 10 percent of men who have had the surgery see a reoccurrence and as much as 15 percent of clients reported their discomfort didn’t pass. When it comes to pregnancy success rates, the numbers significantly varied between 30 and 50%, depending upon the kind of surgery carried out.