Sterilisation (vasectomy or cutting of the vas deferens)
Once couples have decided that they no longer wish to have any more children, the question is what method of contraception they should use. Besides the conventional methods, including hormones for the woman in the form of the classic ‘pill’, or a spiral, etc., there is also a procedure available for the man.
What is a vasectomy?
Male sterilisation involves the urologist cutting through the vas deferens on both sides, while castration refers to the entire removal of the testes.
How safe is a vasectomy?
It is a virtually hundred percent safe method of contraception. The Pearl index states the number of unwanted pregnancies occurring during use of a certain contraception method, when used by 100 women for a period of a year. In the case of a vasectomy, this value is 0.1, making it one of the safest methods of contraception available.
Where can you obtain advice?
If you wish to undergo a sterilisation procedure, you should arrange an outpatient consultation during our consultation hours to enable you and your wife or partner to obtain detailed personal advice.
How does the procedure work?
In the majority of cases, a vasectomy is conducted in our clinic under local anaesthetic. The sterilisation procedure itself is a relatively simple intervention. A local anaesthetic is applied to the skin of the scrotum, the vas deferens is cut through, and the ends sealed. Finally, the small skin incision is sewn closed using absorbable sutures. The entire procedure takes about 30 minutes.
For a period of several weeks following surgery, it is possible that the semen can still contain some sperms cells that are capable of fertilising. For this reason, we examine samples of ejaculate under the microscope on several (generally three) occasions after the operation to check the success of the operation. Until such time as the ejaculate is fully free of sperm, couples will need to use additional contraception.
What surgical complications can occur?
- Injury to the blood vessels in the testes
- Epididymitis / infections
- Adhesions between the vas deferens and the skin
- Knotted accumulations of sperm beneath the cut zone
- Failure rate of 0-6 % in the literature. However, this can be excluded by performing an examination of ejaculate after the surgery, as described above.
Can sterilisation be reversed?
It is theoretically possible to restore the cut section of the vas deferens (vasovasostomy) using complicated microsurgery. However, the longer ago the vasectomy took place, the smaller the chances of restoring the man’s fertility. You should therefore be aware that after the surgery you will in all likelihood not be able to father any more children in the future.
