How do I prepare for varicocele embolisation?
You will lie on the X-ray table, generally flat on your back. You need to have a needle put into a vein in your arm, so that the radiologist can give you a sedative or painkillers. You may also have a monitoring device attached to your chest and finger, and may be given oxygen through small tubes in your nose. The radiologist will keep everything as sterile as possible, and may wear a theatre gown and operating gloves. The skin near the point of insertion, probably the groin, will be swabbed with antiseptic, and then most of the rest of your body covered with a theatre towel. The skin and deeper tissues over the vein will be anaesthetised with local anaesthetic, and then a needle will be inserted into the large vein in the groin. Once the radiologist is satisfied that this is correctly positioned, a guide wire is placed through the needle, and into the vein. Then the needle is withdrawn allowing a fine plastic tube, called a catheter, to be placed over the wire and into the vein. The r
