Outline:
What is a varicocele? https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/varicocele/symptoms-causes/syc-20378771#
How varicocele affects fertility: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046876/
Most varicocele patients are not infertile, but they can affect semen parameters
Mechanisms by which varicocele affects sperm health:
Impact of varicocele on fertility:
Should I treat my varicocele/get surgery to fix? (if it is causing pain, or affecting your fertility in a significant way, and you want to conceive, then yes—get semen analysis and sperm DNA frag analysis to confirm)
Evidence of improved semen parameters after surgery: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27526630/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33763931/, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29051002/
Evidence of improved pregnancy rates after surgery: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27526630/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33355829/