3 - Background - Varicocele Surgery (April 2007)

So in the end of April of 2007 my husband had surgery to remove the varicocele (on both sides). This was an out patient surgery, and he spent about two days on the couch in recovery. The insurance covered the surgery because of the discomfort he was feeling as a result of the varicocele ;-) - which was great because it was about a $9,000 surgery. Most insurances do not cover any costs associated with infertility, so be very intelligent on how you word your issue.

The urologist said that we could start to see improved sperm morphology within the first 3-6 months. My husband had a follow-up appointment/second sperm analysis at the beginning of September of 2007. Unfortunately, the morphology numbers had not improved. I felt like crying in this appointment since the surgery was such an undertaking for my husband. The urologist was not too concerned, however. He said that the morphology numbers often do not improve until after 6 months. Why were we told to get another sperm analysis before the 6 month mark then? My husband said that it was probably to be sure that they didn't snip the wrong vein. Good point.

At this follow up appointment I asked the urologist about when we should consider interuterine insemination (iui). He definitely was discouraging us from having an iui in the near future and was encouraging us to try naturally for awhile longer. I was really open to his advice until I realized that he was involved in research about the success of varicocele surgery without additional fertility assistance. Immediately following this appointment, my husband and I decided that we would continue to try naturally until December of 2007. If we were not pregnant by December, we would schedule our first iui.