Every year over 500,000 men choose to have a vasectomy. A vasectomy is minor office procedure that blocks the sperm from entering the ejaculate. A vasectomy can be reversed, but the sooner you reverse the vasectomy, the better the outcomes. Below are some important points to be aware of when considering a vasectomy.
- Vasectomies are intended to be a permanent form of contraception.
- Vasectomy does not produce immediate sterility.
- Following vasectomy, another form of contraception is required until success of procedure is confirmed by post- vasectomy semen analysis (PVSA).
- You may stop using other methods of contraception when examination of fresh (within 1 hour of ejaculation) post-vasectomy semen specimen shows no sperm or only rare non-motile sperm.
- Even after vas occlusion is confirmed, vasectomy is not 100% reliable in preventing pregnancy.
- The risk of pregnancy after vasectomy is approximately 1 in 2,000 for men who have an initially successful vasectomy.
- Repeat vasectomy is necessary in <1% of vasectomies
- Patients should refrain from ejaculation for approximately one week after vasectomy.
- Options for fertility after vasectomy include vasectomy reversal and sperm retrieval with in vitro fertilization. These options are not always successful, and they may be expensive.