Congratulations! The fact that you’re looking for info about having a vasectomy makes you a very worthy individual. You might think it isn’t all that extraordinary and, these days, it shouldn’t be. In fact, though, it is.
Most men leave all reproductive issues in the hands of their female partners and although women have a much more active role in reproduction, it’s quite rewarding to see men doing their share.
Birth control is an informed choice that should be made by both partners. Choosing a vasectomy as a permanent birth control method has a lot of advantages and very few drawbacks.
To help you, we’ve put together all the important info about having a vasectomy.
What is a vasectomy?
A vasectomy is a permanent method of birth control. The procedure is performed on the male partner.
The sperm in your semen is produced in the testicles. The sperm then travel through the vas deferens tubes to the seminal glands, where they mix with the nourishing seminal fluid. This fluid moves to the prostate and mixes with the prostate fluids. The semen is then expelled, through the urethra, during ejaculation.
The whole process – from the sperm’s creation as tiny cells until the semen is ejaculated – takes 64 days.
During a vasectomy the vas deferens (the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to the seminal glands) are severed. The immature first stage sperm cells die before they become fully-grown cells. The rest of the process keeps happening, as before, but there is no longer any sperm in the ejaculated fluid.
Conventional vasectomy
In a conventional vasectomy, after anaesthesia (usually a local anesthetic) has taken full effect, a small incision is made in the scrotum. The vas deferens are then located and blocked. Sometimes a small portion of the tubes is removed. The small incisions in the scrotum are then sutured with dissolvable stitches.
No-scalpel vasectomy
In a no-scalpel vasectomy, instead of a scalpel incision, a tiny hole is made in the scrotum. The skin of the scrotum is then stretched to give the surgeon visual access. The rest of the procedure is performed in the same way as the conventional vasectomy.
Once the procedure is finished, the small hole doesn’t need to be sutured; it is left to heal on its own.
Vasectomy performed under general or local anesthesia
Both procedures are very safe surgically. If local anesthesia is chosen, a man can have this minor surgery process, as an outpatient, in a day surgery center. He can usually walk straight out of the procedure half an hour after he entered.
For those who might have anxiety about the procedure, a light general anaesthesia is also offered. When general anesthesia is used, the man needs to remain under observation for a few hours until the general anesthetic has completely left the system.
Both procedures, whether general or local anesthesia is used, are very safe. Your healthcare provider will inform you about the whole vasectomy process, including your choice of anesthesia.
Vasectomy recovery
A vasectomy is a minor procedure that might give you some discomfort for about a week post-op.
You can carry on with normal life (unless ‘normal’ for you means horse riding, salsa, zumba, karate….)
Using some kind of scrotal support will help you to avoid any sharp testicular movements. Wear a jock strap or some tighter underwear, for example, which will make your testicles feel more ‘contained’. It is most likely that you won’t make any sharp movements but a bit of extra support, in the first few days following your operation, will do you a lot of good.
Avoid sexual intercourse for the first few days. You’ll know when you are ready to resume sex again, as well as any other physical activity. Your sex drive won’t be affected and a vasectomy should not have any impact at all on your sexual performance.
Your sex life might even improve. A vasectomy is very effective at preventing pregnancy and you and your partner might enjoy a more fulfilling sexual life when you know an unwanted pregnancy is out of the picture. You won’t need any other birth control methods that might slow the flow of a sexual encounter.
Vasectomy side effects
In the vast majority of men, vasectomy has very few side effects. If you experience any, most of them are usually quite mild:
- Mild discomfort. Some discomfort or mild pain in the first couple of days after the procedure is to be expected. Try to take it easy and give the site enough time to heal
- Bruising. This is one of the possible risks. Sometimes, a small blood vessel is broken during the surgical procedure. The blood then leaks into the skin tissue and bruising appears. All bruises will go through a range of colors as the blood is reabsorbed. The discomfort from the bruise will go away as the color fades, until they both disappear
- Swelling. A little swelling is also to be expected after any surgical procedure. Because the intervention has taken place at two different sites, it’s possible for one testicle to be more swollen than the other. This is normal. Both your testicles will go back to normal a few days after the procedure
- Sperm granulomas. These hard lumps are formed by the sperm leaking from the tubes. They should be painless and will eventually be absorbed. Massage any hard lumps you find in the area after your procedure; this will help with their reabsorption.
All these side effects will usually disappear in less than a week.
Post vasectomy pain syndrome
In rare cases, men experience severe pain after their procedure. The latest research shows that just 5% of men who undergo a vasectomy will have some kind of post procedure pain.
Post vasectomy pain syndrome (PVPS) is one of the most serious complications a man can experience. If the pain doesn’t get any better with time, talk to your doctor, who will discuss your treatment options with you.
A reversal of the vasectomy might be necessary in some rare cases. PVPS will most likely disappear as a result. Remember, though, that the reversal is also a surgical procedure, so a bit of discomfort is to be expected for the first few days following a reversal procedure.
Vasectomy reversal
Although it should be considered a permanent form of birth control, a vasectomy procedure can be reversed with high chances of success. In women, the equivalent procedure (tubal ligation) cannot be undone. This is one of the greatest advantages of vasectomy as a form of male birth control.
The younger the man is and the less amount of time that has passed since the procedure was performed, the more likely the reversal will be successful.
Reversal surgery is very similar to the vasectomy itself. The biggest difference is that a reversal takes longer. This is easy to understand, as cutting a tube takes much less time than to restore the connection of the tiny vas deferens tubes.
Your healthcare provider will keep you informed of everything related to your reversal procedure – especially if the reason you are opting for a reversed vasectomy is that you’re suffering from post-vasectomy pain syndrome. Your healthcare provider will discuss your care with you and what’s to be expected in the development of your own case.
You can read more in BellyBelly’s article Vasectomy Reversal & What Happened After Vasectomy.
Vasectomy cost
This is going to depend a lot on where you live.
In some countries, like the UK and Spain, a procedure can be covered by the country’s social security or medical care system. This means it will be free of charge. However, the waiting list tends to be very long and some people opt to have it done privately.
In some countries, medicare covers a percentage of the cost of the procedure, depending on what kind of medicare coverage you have.
If you are planning to have a vasectomy privately, browse your options, as prices vary considerably from one healthcare provider to another.
You can read more in Having A Vasectomy in Australia and Vasectomy | Having A Vasectomy in the UK.
Can you get pregnant if he has a vasectomy?
When a man has had a vasectomy performed, the vas deferens tubes that carry sperm have been cut of. The sperm will no longer be able to mix with the seminal fluid.
The ejaculated fluid no longer carries any sperm.
No healthcare providers will ever say their method is 100% effective, as there is always a small chance of a sperm leaking from one ends of the vas deferens and into the other end.
This is extremely rare, however. After the procedure, the man has a semen analysis and sperm counts are carried out, to make sure the ejaculated fluid is sperm free.
Be aware of the fact that having any kind of sexual activity with a man who has had a vasectomy will prevent pregnancy but you won’t be protected against sexually transmitted infections.
After the procedure, the only difference in a man’s seminal fluid is that the duct that carries sperm to the seminal fluid is blocked. Sexually transmitted infections are not carried by the sperm but are contained in the seminal fluid, which is ejaculated whether or not a man has had a vasectomy performed.
Make sure you protect yourself against sexually transmitted diseases.
You might be worried because you’ve met a man who has had the procedure and you’re wondering about the possibility of having children. Research shows that there are options for you. He can have his procedure reversed and you can also become pregnant via in vitro fertilization.
Reasons not to get a vasectomy
You might have heard a lot of stories by now.
You might hear, for example, that a vasectomy increases your risk factors for developing heart disease, prostate cancer or testicular cancer. Or you might have heard that your sex drive or testosterone production decreases.
These are urban legends, based on fear and hearsay. The American Urological Association and the Urology Care Foundation have found no link between vasectomy and prostate cancer.
I’d say that the only good reason not to get one is that your partner cannot get pregnant – for example, because she’s had her uterus removed or she’s had her tubes severed (tubal ligation), which is the permanent form of female birth control. In this case, having a vasectomy would be redundant if you are in a monogamous relationship.
Tubal ligation means a woman needs to have major abdominal surgery, as the tubes that carry the egg to the uterus are not as easily accessible as the tubes that carry the sperm out of the testicles.
If a couple is looking for a permanent method of birth control the vasectomy should be the one of choice.
In most cases, when a woman must go for abdominal surgery (a cesarean section being the most common case) the surgeon will offer to sever her fallopian tubes.
The conversation about whether this should happen should take place during pregnancy, as female permanent sterilization cannot be reversed.
If a couple is discussing permanent sterilization, a vasectomy is the easiest and fastest option, with fewer associated risks and the possibility of reversal.
