[Noninvasive imaging procedures in the diagnosis and therapy control of varicoceles. I: Sonography and thermography in the diagnosis of varicoceles].

69 patients with clinically suspected varicoceles were examined thermographically and sonographically prior to testicular phlebography. The combination of sonography and thermography permitted precise differentiation into normal findings (7%), left-sided varicoceles (86%) and bilateral varicoceles (7%). Thermography was advantageous with an accuracy of 97.3%. Sonography had an accuracy of 90.5%. No clear correlation was found between varicocele size and degree of hyperthermia. The combination of sonography and thermography affords a high degree of accuracy in the diagnosis of varicoceles, including subclinical and infantile varicoceles.