Jemis, 1 2013 Multicenter Italian survey for varicocele treatment in pediatric age N. Zampieri M. Brugnoni E. Caldarulo A. Corciulo M. D'Amato F. Nino M. Brugnoni G. Lisi F. Molinaro N. Nardi T. Gargano A. Appignani M. Cimador G. Cobellis A. D'Alessio M. Messina G. Paradies F. S. Camoglio M. Lima Table of Contents 1. Contents ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 1.2. MATERIALS and METHODS ................................................................ 2 1.3. RESULTS ........................................................................................... 2 1.4. DISCUSSION ...................................................................................... 4 1.5. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................. 5 1.6. References ........................................................................................... 5 1.7. Table 1: questionnaire about varicocele treatment ....................................... 6 1. Contents 1.1. INTRODUCTION Varicocele is the most frequently diagnosed andrological condition requiring surgery in pediatric and adolescent patients.[1] Surveys reported that 15-20% of young people aged between 10 and 14 years has varicocele of any grade [2-3]. The gold standard to treat varicocele in pediatric age and adolescence is yet to be found. What we know about varicocele comes from the guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics (www.aap.org), the European Urological Association (www.uroweb.org), the American Urological Association (www.auanet.org) and of the European Society for Pediatric Urology (www.espu.org). According to these guidelines, varicocele is defined as an abnormal dilatation of testicular veins in the pampiniformis plexus caused by vein reflux. Several authors reported on the reversal of testicular growth after varicocelectomy in adolescents [4-8] (level of evidence: 2). However, this may be partly due to edema of the testis associated with the division of lymphatic vessels (level of evidence: 2).[9] Fertility problems will arise in about 20% of adolescents with varicocele. (level of evidence: 1). The recommended indication criteria for varicocelectomy in children and