Dr. Atabak Allaei is a double board-certified physician in Vascular & Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology, with advanced training in both diagnostic imaging and minimally invasive image-guided treatment. He serves on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills and UCI Medical Center, and is the Medical Director of California Vascular & Interventional.
Recognized for his expertise in embolization therapy, Dr. Allaei has a special focus on varicocele embolization, a minimally invasive treatment for men with varicoceles, testicular discomfort, fertility concerns, or abnormal semen parameters. Due to his broad referral base and specialized experience, Dr. Allaei performs a high volume of varicocele embolization procedures and is regarded as one of the more experienced varicocele embolization physicians in the region.
As a vascular and image-guided specialist, Dr. Allaei has performed more than 5,000 image-guided procedures, including varicocele embolization, pelvic embolization, fibroid embolization, prostate artery embolization, musculoskeletal embolization, tumor embolization, and other complex vascular interventions. His experience with advanced embolization procedures allows him to approach each varicocele case with careful imaging evaluation, precise catheter technique, and a strong focus on safety and long-term outcomes.
Varicocele embolization requires a high level of technical skill because the gonadal veins can vary significantly from patient to patient and may involve complex collateral veins or recurrence after prior surgery. Successful treatment depends on detailed venous mapping, precise catheter navigation, and complete embolization of the abnormal refluxing veins. Dr. Allaei’s background in complex embolization gives him a unique advantage in treating both straightforward and challenging varicocele cases.
Originally from San Diego, California, Dr. Allaei earned his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He later pursued breast cancer research before earning his Doctor of Medicine degree from the State University of New York. He completed residency training in New York, followed by fellowship training in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at the prestigious Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Medical Center.
Patients choose Dr. Allaei not only for his recognized expertise in varicocele embolization, but also for his personalized, honest, and safety-focused approach to care. He takes time to review each patient’s symptoms, ultrasound findings, fertility goals, and treatment history before recommending the most appropriate option. His goal is to provide advanced, minimally invasive varicocele treatment with precision, comfort, and meaningful improvement in quality of life.
What do Staff say ?
Recent Posts
Intrathoracic #goiter with severe airway stenosis treated with #TAE, pre and post 1 year follow up scan with resolution of symptoms and 60% volume reduction. #Embolization is an outpatient non-surgical alternative to #thyroid removal.
Pre- and post-hemorrhoidal artery embolization (HAE). If you have #bleeding internal #hemorrhoids there is another option 🙌🏽
Contact the doctors that specialist in embolization 👉Vascular & Interventional Radiologist
#IRad #Embolization #Hemorrhoids
Met the 2.5 year old result of an #FTR procedure from 3 years ago that helped restore fertility and hope to this wonderful family. #infertility #blockedtubes #irad
18 cm #fibroid treated with #UFE. Significant reduction, patient was symptoms free and finally able to sleep through the night. No #hysterectomy required. Non-surgical UFE is only performed by a trained Vascular and Interventional Radiologist. MRI before and 6 months post.
#TheSundayRead 📖
Impact of Thyroid Arterial Embolization on Clinical and Biochemical Outcomes and Quality of Life in Patients with Nodular and Multinodular Goiter
https://t.co/n2PXWbyClY
#MRI before and 6 months after uterine artery embolization for #adenomyosis with resolution of heavy painful menstrual cycles. There are non-surgical options out there! See a specialist today, #hysterectomy is not the only option! #irad #gynecology #gyn #uae #ufe #embolizaiton
Small #intracavitary #fibroid treated with outpatient #ufe procedure. Minimal downtime. Minimal post op pain. Contact IR specialist if you have #fibroids. #nonsurgical #embolization maybe an option. #fibroidsurgery #health #women #myomectomy #hysterectomy #uae #medicine #surgery
7 cm intracavitary #fibroid treated with #ufe followed by #hysteroscopic resection with #gyn. Organ amputation can be avoided when specialties work together. #fibroidsurgery #medicine #health #hysterectomy #femalehealth #embolization #uae #doctor
Laser lithotripsy of a mobile stone in a patulous CBD. Interventional Radiology - we specialize in random things #JustConsultIR #irad #gastrointestinal #surgery #bilestones #stones @SIRspecialists @SIRRFS @SIR_ECS
Leg DVT treated with thrombectomy. Nicely done by new larger @PenVascular catheters. Ask your doctor to consult a Vascular & Interventional Radiologist if you have DVT. #DVT #legpain #legdvt #irad #bloodclots
Our Specialist
Atabak Allaei, MD
Double board-certified in Vascular & Interventional Radiology and Diagnostic Radiology. Medical Director, California Vascular & Interventional. He performs every varicocele embolization himself.
Why patients seek our doctor
A varicocele treated without surgery
An approach refined across thousands of embolizations — for men who were told that cutting into the scrotum or groin was the only way to fix this.
Varicocele embolization treats the problem from inside the veins, through a pinhole in the groin or neck. There is no incision, no general anesthesia, and no cutting near the testicle. Every case is planned from his own reading of your imaging and performed by his own hand.
He does every case himself
Every appointment and every procedure is conducted by Dr. Allaei — not a physician assistant, nurse practitioner or rotating provider.
He reads your imaging himself
Board certification in Diagnostic Radiology means that alongside the radiologist’s report, he reviews your imaging himself — planning the case from the images, not from a summary of them.
The right specialty for this procedure
Embolization is a vascular procedure, not a urologic surgery. It is performed by interventional radiologists, not urologists.
High volume, including recurrences
A broad referral base means he performs a high volume of varicocele embolizations — including men whose varicocele came back after surgery.
The testicle is never touched
The vein is treated from the inside, well away from the scrotum — which is often exactly why patients come looking for an alternative.
Your physician
Atabak Allaei, MD
Medical Director, California Vascular & Interventional
- Double board-certified
- 10,000+ image-guided procedures
- 2,000+ embolizations
- Cedars-Sinai & UCI Health staff
- High-volume varicocele practice
The part most pages leave out
Varicocele embolization is a harder procedure than it sounds
The outcome is decided by whether every abnormal refluxing vein is found and closed. Successful treatment depends on detailed venous mapping, precise catheter navigation, and complete embolization of the refluxing veins — and that is where experience separates one operator from another.
Dr. Allaei’s background in complex embolization is what allows him to treat both straightforward cases and difficult ones — including men who have already had surgery and come back with a recurrence.
- Gonadal vein anatomy varies widely. The number, course and branching of the veins differ significantly from one patient to the next.
- Collateral veins are the reason varicoceles come back. Small parallel channels can keep refluxing after the main vein is treated, and must be found and closed too.
- Recurrence after surgery is a different problem. Post-surgical anatomy is scarred and rerouted, and requires mapping the new pathways rather than assuming the standard ones.
- Both sides get evaluated. Left-sided varicoceles are most common, but the right side is checked rather than assumed normal.
- Imaging carries the case. Venography and careful interpretation confirm which veins are actually refluxing before anything is embolized.
Background
About Dr. Allaei
- Focus: varicocele
- Breadth of experience
- Why the specialty matters
- Training and credentials
- How he practices
Focus: varicocele
Recognized for his expertise in embolization therapy, Dr. Allaei has a special focus on varicocele embolization — a minimally invasive treatment for men with varicoceles, testicular discomfort, fertility concerns, or abnormal semen parameters.
Because of his broad referral base and specialized experience, he performs a high volume of varicocele embolization procedures and is regarded as one of the more experienced varicocele embolization physicians in the region.
Breadth of experience
Dr. Allaei has performed more than 10,000 image-guided procedures, including over 2,000 embolizations:
His experience with advanced embolization procedures allows him to approach each varicocele case with careful imaging evaluation, precise catheter technique, and a strong focus on safety and long-term outcomes.
Why the specialty matters
Varicocele embolization is not a surgery. Nothing is cut and the testicle is never touched — the vein is treated from the inside, through a pinhole, under live X-ray guidance. That is a vascular procedure, and it falls under the training and board certification of Vascular & Interventional Radiology.
This is worth being clear about, because many men are only ever offered the options their urologist is trained to perform. Urology certification covers surgical treatment — microsurgical varicocelectomy and laparoscopic varicocelectomy. Embolization is performed by interventional radiologists, which is why so many patients reach us having never been told the non-surgical option existed. Both specialties have a role; the difference is which procedures each is trained and certified to perform. See the full comparison chart →
Training and credentials
He is double board-certified in Vascular & Interventional Radiology and in Diagnostic Radiology, with advanced training in both diagnostic imaging and minimally invasive image-guided treatment. He serves on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills and UCI Medical Center, and is Medical Director of California Vascular & Interventional.
- University of California, San DiegoBS, Biochemistry and Cell Biology — Summa Cum Laude
- Breast cancer researchPrior to medical school
- State University of New YorkDoctor of Medicine
- Residency — New YorkRadiology
- Mallinckrodt Institute of RadiologyFellowship in Vascular & Interventional Radiology — Washington University / Barnes-Jewish Medical Center
How he practices
Originally from San Diego, Dr. Allaei is chosen by patients not only for his recognized expertise but for a personalized, honest, and safety-focused approach to care. He takes time to review each patient's symptoms, ultrasound findings, fertility goals, and treatment history before recommending the most appropriate option. His goal is to provide advanced, minimally invasive varicocele treatment with precision, comfort, and meaningful improvement in quality of life.
Clinical decisions here are made by the physician who performs the procedure, with no outside influence on your care and no pressure to move you through a schedule. More about how our practice works →
In their own words
Hear from current and past OR staff
The nurses and technologists who work beside him in the procedure room — the people who watch him operate — describe what it’s like to assist his cases.
Patient reviews tell you about bedside manner. Operating-room staff see something patients never do: how a physician handles a difficult case, how steady the hands are, and whether the room stays calm.
Latest updates
Real cases, as he treats them
He posts imaging, outcomes and technique from actual procedures on his professional feed.
Intrathoracic #goiter with severe airway stenosis treated with #TAE, pre and post 1 year follow up scan with resolution of symptoms and 60% volume reduction. #Embolization is an outpatient non-surgical alternative to #thyroid removal.
Pre- and post-hemorrhoidal artery embolization (HAE). If you have #bleeding internal #hemorrhoids there is another option 🙌🏽
Contact the doctors that specialist in embolization 👉Vascular & Interventional Radiologist
#IRad #Embolization #Hemorrhoids
Met the 2.5 year old result of an #FTR procedure from 3 years ago that helped restore fertility and hope to this wonderful family. #infertility #blockedtubes #irad
18 cm #fibroid treated with #UFE. Significant reduction, patient was symptoms free and finally able to sleep through the night. No #hysterectomy required. Non-surgical UFE is only performed by a trained Vascular and Interventional Radiologist. MRI before and 6 months post.
#TheSundayRead 📖
Impact of Thyroid Arterial Embolization on Clinical and Biochemical Outcomes and Quality of Life in Patients with Nodular and Multinodular Goiter
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00270-025-04055-1
#MRI before and 6 months after uterine artery embolization for #adenomyosis with resolution of heavy painful menstrual cycles. There are non-surgical options out there! See a specialist today, #hysterectomy is not the only option! #irad #gynecology #gyn #uae #ufe #embolizaiton
Common questions
About Dr. Allaei
Does Dr. Allaei perform the procedure himself?
Yes. He performs every varicocele embolization personally, and conducts every appointment himself — not a physician assistant, nurse practitioner or rotating provider. The physician who reviews your imaging is the physician who treats you.
What is Dr. Allaei board certified in?
He is double board-certified in Vascular & Interventional Radiology and in Diagnostic Radiology.
This is the certification that matters for embolization — and it is not a urology certification. Varicocele embolization is not a surgery. It is an image-guided vascular procedure performed from inside the veins through a pinhole, and it is trained for and performed by vascular and interventional radiologists — not by urologists, whose training covers surgical treatments such as microsurgical and laparoscopic varicocelectomy.
His second certification, in Diagnostic Radiology, is why the same physician who reads your imaging is the one who performs your procedure.
How many procedures has he performed?
More than 10,000 image-guided procedures, including over 2,000 embolizations — varicocele embolization, hydrocele sclerotherapy, pelvic embolization, fibroid embolization, prostate artery embolization, musculoskeletal embolization and other complex vascular interventions. A broad referral base means varicocele embolization is a high-volume part of that practice.
How is embolization different from varicocele surgery?
Surgery reaches the veins through an incision and ties them off. Embolization reaches them from the inside through a pinhole and closes them with coils, with no incision and no general anesthesia. The two differ in anesthesia, recovery time and side-effect profile. See the comparison chart → or review the clinical evidence →
My varicocele came back after surgery. Can it still be treated?
Often yes. Recurrence after surgery is one of the more technically demanding scenarios, because the anatomy has been altered and collateral veins may be carrying the reflux. Dr. Allaei maps the veins directly rather than assuming standard anatomy, and treats recurrent cases regularly.
Do patients travel to see him?
Yes — patients travel from across the country and internationally. Appointments and imaging review are conducted by video telehealth, so out-of-area patients typically travel only once, for the procedure itself.
Next steps
Explore your options
Non-Surgical
Varicocele Embolization
The procedure he specializes in.
Evidence
Clinical Evidence
What the research shows.
Background
What is Interventional Radiology?
The specialty behind the procedure.
Coverage
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Locations
Where he treats
Beverly Hills, Pomona, Orange County, Temecula and La Jolla.
Meet with the doctor who will treat you
Request an appointment and Dr. Allaei will personally review your symptoms, ultrasound findings, fertility goals and treatment history, walk you through the surgical and non-surgical options, and give you his best recommendation for your specific situation. Available in person or by video telehealth.
