THE WOMEN’S HEALTH GROUP, P.C.

9195 Grant Street, Suite 410, Thornton, CO 80229

Phone: 303-280-2229 (BABY)

300 Exempla Circle, Suite 470, Lafayette, CO 80026

Phone: 303-665-6016

www.whg-pc.com

Vasectomy

Why Vasectomy?

Well, why a safety belt in your car, a life belt if you go boating, and an automatic shut off valve on your furnace boiler?  Because these are often the best ways, sometimes the only ways, to prevent accidents.  An accident is an occurrence that damages something or someone, and if causing a pregnancy would fit that category now and forevermore, then a vasectomy is your safety belt.  Nearly a million American men are now having vasectomies each year, and millions of men in other countries are choosing vasectomy.  It's simple and permanent.  It eliminates the need for female partners to go on taking the pill year after year, and it ends the danger of damage which a pregnancy might cause.

What Is The Operation Like?

If you think of your genitals as a useful and acceptable part of you, rather like an elbow, ear, or thumb, then a vasectomy will be very much like a minor operation on an elbow, an ear, or a thumb.  The operation takes 20 to 30 minutes, can usually be performed in a doctor's office or clinic, and is done under local anesthetic.  The doctor makes two small incisions in the scrotum (the sack holding the testes) and cuts the two tiny tubes which carry the sperm up into the body.  The tubes are called vas deferens (vasectomy = vas+ectomy, "to cut").  The doctor usually snips a small piece out of each tube and ties off the cut ends.  If you regard your genitals as something different from the rest of your body, something fearful or shameful, the operation will still be a simple surgical procedure for the doctor, but you may feel differently about it.  How you feel about it is the most important thing.

Will I Have Much Pain After The Operation?

Probably not, individual reactions vary.  Most men experience three or four days of mild discomfort (like a toothache in the groin) after the operation.  Motrin® or Advil® is usually sufficient to relieve the discomfort.  You may experience a nonspecific general achiness for up to a month afterward.  You could expect some black and blueness around the groin.  Only a very small number of men experience more severe side effects.

How About My Job?

Doctors usually recommend taking it easy for a day or two after the vasectomy.  If your work involves heavy lifting or other strenuous activity, it might be necessary to take some time off.

Will A Vasectomy Have Any Effect On My Sex Life?

Sure, if you want the vasectomy and have been worried about causing a pregnancy, your sex life should be better.  The operation doesn't change anything physically except the sperm content of your semen.  Sex, orgasm, ejaculation will be the same.  If you don't want the vasectomy, though, and are merely getting it because you think you should, or your wife wants you to, or for some other reason, you may find that your feelings of anger come out in your sex life after the operation.  Or, if you're worried about your sex life before the operation, the chances are that the vasectomy won't improve anything.  Vasectomy doesn't change who you are or how you feel about sex.  All vasectomy does is prevent pregnancies.

Is the Operation Effective Immediately?

No, there are still sperm in the vas deferens above the place the doctor cuts.  It usually takes between 10 and 20 ejaculations to get all of the sperm out, and you will have to use some other form of contraception for a while.  The doctor will ask you to return after a specific number of ejaculations for lab tests to determine that the seminal fluid is clear of sperm.

What Happens To My Sperm After The Operation?

The testes go on manufacturing sperm, but the sperm have no place to go.  The body absorbs them just as it continually absorbs all unused cells.  This is a natural process and has no harmful effects.

What about Sperm Banks?

Some men deposit specimens of their sperm in sperm banks before vasectomy.  The sperm is frozen in liquid nitrogen and can be withdrawn at some later time to be used for artificial insemination.  There are medical arguments both for and against sperm banking, and there are no firm answers.  There is a fee for this service.

When I Have An Orgasm, Will I Still Ejaculate?

Yes, the sperm which are manufactured in the testes make up only about 2% of the semen.  The other 98%, which you will still have, is manufactured in other glands in the body.  Unless you put the semen under a microscope, you won't be able to tell the difference.

So, How Soon Can I Have Sex Again?

As soon as you feel up to it.  You don't need to feel you have to prove anything, however, before the soreness is gone.  Nobody is running a contest for the quickest recovery.  Wait a few days until you feel like it.

Is The Operation Always Successful?

In less than 1% of all cases, the cut ends of the tube may grow together again.  This is very rare.

How About Complications?

In a few cases a small blood vessel may continue to bleed inside the scrotum, or there may be a minor infection.  Minor problems like these can be cleared up quickly by prompt medical treatment.  The doctor or clinic will tell you what to watch for and how to get in touch if you need help.

Suppose I Decide Later I Want My Sperm Back?

Don't.  The chances of reversing the operation aren't good, and no one will guarantee it for you.  Vasectomy should be considered permanent.  Please don't ask a doctor or clinic to do a vasectomy for you if there is any chance you will change your mind.  There are new techniques being tested, but they are not in general use, and if you want a reversible method right now, vasectomy isn't it.

Is Vasectomy Anything Like Castration?

Castration means removing the testes.  Vasectomy doesn't touch the testes.  Castration removes the male hormones, but vasectomy has no known effect on the male hormonal system.  No!  Men who have had vasectomies are not geldings, eunuchs, or de-sexed.

Are There Men Who Should Not Have Vasectomies?

Yes, men who have sexual problems or men who have strong sexual fears.  Men who feel "manly" only when they cause a pregnancy.  Men who change their minds a lot.  Men married to women who change their minds a lot.  Men married to women who can't make up their minds.  Men who may get unmarried and then marry someone else.  Men who are reluctant.  Men who think they might want to have children later.  Men who are not old enough to have made the decisions thoughtfully and on the basis of experience.

How Much Does It Cost?

Private physician’s fees generally are in the range of several hundred dollars.  Clinic programs may cost much less.  Many medical insurance programs pay for vasectomies.  Check with your company's medical claims consultant to find out.  Also, check with the doctor or clinic to determine whether they will accept this form of payment.  For further information call your physician, your local Planned Parenthood office, or your health department.