Laparoscopic surgery for pediatric varicoceles: Randomized controlled trial.

Background/purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the advantages and the shortcomings of laparoscopic varicocelectomy compared with open traditional treatment of varicoceles.

Methods: A total of 654 patients were operated on for left-sided varicoceles over 5 years from 1995 to 2000. To evaluate the clinical efficiency of the treatment, the patients were divided randomly into 2 groups.