According to a recent research, swollen veins appeared on men’s scrotum, known as varicoceles – a common cause of infertility in men – can be treated with a minimally invasive procedure called retrograde venous embolization. The procedure improves semen quality, as well as sperm count and motility.

The study conducted by Dr. Sebastian Flacke, from the University of Bonn Medical School in Germany, involved 223 infertile men aged 18-50 with 228 varicoceles. 226 varicoceles were successfully treated. The varicocele had fully resolved in 206 patients.

The procedure, which works by blocking excessive blood flow into the veins, allowing them to shrink back to normal size, could prove to be the long-waited response for infertile men suffering from varicoceles. Six months after the treatment, 45 couples had successfully become pregnant.

“Venous embolization, a simple treatment using a catheter through the groin, can help to improve sperm function in infertile men,” researcher Sebastian Flacke said in a news release. “With the patients’ improved sperm function, more than one-quarter of their healthy partners were able to become pregnant.”

The procedure is done with a small catheter which is inserted through a small incision in the groin. The radiologist uses an imaging tool to guide it to the affected right- or left-sided varicocele. The recovery time is minimal and the results are “similar with those reported after surgical repair,” researchers said.

The findings, which appear in the journal Radiology, indicate that the treatment could be a “useful adjunct to in vitro fertilization therapy.”