Change of Heart: How Easy is it to Reverse a Vasectomy?

Women have a vast choice of birth control, with everything from pills to patches readily available to protect female sexual health and wellness. For the guys, however, the vasectomy is the closest thing modern medicine has come to an effective birth control option – condoms aside. When you have a vasectomy, it’s like a woman getting a lifetime supply of birth control pills – without putting her wellbeing at risk to side effects – or having her tubes tied, which is a much more complicated procedure than a vasectomy. The procedure is simple but somewhat permanent – unless, of course, you choose to have it reversed.

 

When you have a vasectomy, your surgeons will cut the vas deferens, which are the two tubes that transport sperm from your testicles to your penis. Two quick slices mean you’re sperm-free and in permanent safety from unwanted pregnancies. However, nothing is ever really permanent in this world, including some men’s resolve to not have children. Some men do opt to reverse their vasectomies, which is accomplished through a procedure known as a vasovasostomy. This is nothing new; vasovasostomies have been around for more than 100 years, with the first successful operation reported in 1919. These days, the procedure is ten-a-penny, with 30,000 previosuly-snipped men in the US having one every year.

 

The reasons to reverse your vasectomy will vary depending on the man, but often a remarriage, improvement in financial situation or death of a child is involved. On very rare occasions, a doctor might perform a vasovasostomy if complications of a vasectomy have left you in a lot of pain. Regardless of your reasons, reversal is definitely a tempting option, but it’s important to note that a vasovasostomy isn’t just a fall-back option for whenever you change your mind. The reversal procedure is not always successful, as your body may have ceased to recognise its own sperm and, as a result, developed antibodies to it. This drastically lowers your chances of impregnating your partner, even if you have a vasovasostomy.

 

One factor involved in the effectiveness of your vasovasostomy will be how long you wait to change your mind. Even if your doctor does manage to successfully reverse your procedure, your odds of getting your partner pregnant will still be lower than they were before you originally had the snip, and the time it takes for you to have a vasovasostomy will have an impact on these odds. If you choose to have a vasovasostomy three years after you originally had a vasectomy, for example, there’s a 97% chance that your doctor will be able to successfully reopen your vas deferens, but the likelihood of you impregnating your partner will stand at 76% – and this is the best-case scenario. The longer you wait to have your vasectomy reversed, the less of a chance that the vasovasostomy will work. If you were to wait 15 years, your chance of rebuilding your vas deferens will be 71% and of actually getting your partner pregnant will be a mere 30%.

 

You won’t be surprised to hear that “uncutting” your vas deferens is not as simple or straightforward as cutting it was. The average vasectomy takes about 20 minutes to complete, but a reversal of the procedure can take anywhere from two to four hours. While you don’t need an overnight stay in hospital for either procedure, with a vasovasostomy you should take the entire day off and expect to be in the hospital for at least six hours. Recovery then takes approximately a month, with you going back to work within three to seven days but refraining from sex for the full month.

Categories: Birth Control, partner, partner pregnant, procedure, reverse, Risks, vas deferens, vasectomy, vasovasostomy

Men: We Put Your Sexual Health Questions to the Expert

Men don’t often like to discuss wellness issues, especially when they revolve around your sexual health. However, instead of keeping quiet, a few brave men have put their questions to medical expert Dr. Mohan S. Palaniswami – and we’re passing the info on to you! So, if there’s something you always wanted to know – but were too afraid to ask – read on and see if the expert has the answers you’re searching for.

 

1. What exactly is impotence and can it be treated? ‘Impotence is the inability to achieve or maintain an adequate erection frequently or regularly,’ Dr. Palaniswami explains. ‘It is important to understand that one episode of decreased ability for erection does not mean someone is impotent. You should feel free to speak to your doctor about your sexual activity. It is a normal part of health, and physicians are trained to discuss, evaluate and treat, when necessary, these issues. A doctor can evaluate each individual to assess potential causes for impotence and determine the proper treatment, if any, that is needed.’

 

Dr. Palaniswami continues, ‘In many cases, treatment is quite effective. Treatment depends on the cause of the impotence, and can range from stopping of a medication to treating an infection to implanting prosthetic devices to starting new medications. Sexual wellbeing is a very important part of an individual’s over-all health. Physicians and other health professionals are important resources for considering your sexual health into your over-all health management.’

 

 

2. I don’t like using condoms, but if I get a vasectomy will it be reversible? According to Dr. Palaniswami, ‘Vasectomy can be a very effective method of birth control. Usually, a condom should continue to be used for the first three to six months after a vasectomy as there could be sperm stored in the vas deferens (the conduit which sperm uses to travel out of the testicles and through the penis.) More importantly, condoms protect from the transmission of sexually transmitted disease. Vasectomy offers no such defence. Once done, vasectomy is potentially reversible, but the success of reversing the procedure varies. Scarring from the initial procedure can cause irreversible damage to the vas deferens making a revision of the vasectomy impossible.’

 

Dr. Palaniswami adds, ‘Pregnancy rates after reversing vasectomy can be reduced by up to 50%…If vasectomy is desired, an option for future offspring may be to store sperm in a sperm bank in case the vasectomy is permanent. Prior to planning such a procedure, careful consultation with your primary care physician and a urologist should occur so that you fully understand the risks involved.’

 

 

3. Following my annual prostate exam, my doctor told me my PSA was normal, but what is it? ‘PSA stands for Prostate Specific Antigen and is a marker in the blood that is made almost exclusively by the prostate,’ says Dr. Palaniswami. ‘Recently, it has become the standard of care to check a PSA level in men over the age of fifty…A level of less than four is normal, while a level greater than 10 indicates a greater than two-thirds chance cancer being present. A study at the University of Washington in 1995 seemed to indicate that using this marker can catch up to 97% of prostatic cancers at the most easily-curable stage, that is, when the cancer is only in the prostate. The drawback to this test is that PSA can also go up with conditions that aren’t cancerous, such as an infection of the prostate (prostatitis), inflammation of the prostate from a nearby infection, or in a common condition called benign prostatic hypertrophy which is a benign enlargement of the prostate.’

Categories: dr palaniswami, health, Impotence, nbsp, nbsp dr, nbsp nbsp, prostate, psa testing, sexual health, vas deferens, vasectomy

Men: We Put Your Sexual Health Questions to the Expert

Men don’t often like to discuss wellness issues, especially when they revolve around your sexual health. However, instead of keeping quiet, a few brave men have put their questions to medical expert Dr. Mohan S. Palaniswami – and we’re passing the info on to you! So, if there’s something you always wanted to know – but were too afraid to ask – read on and see if the expert has the answers you’re searching for.

 

1. What exactly is impotence and can it be treated? ‘Impotence is the inability to achieve or maintain an adequate erection frequently or regularly,’ Dr. Palaniswami explains. ‘It is important to understand that one episode of decreased ability for erection does not mean someone is impotent. You should feel free to speak to your doctor about your sexual activity. It is a normal part of health, and physicians are trained to discuss, evaluate and treat, when necessary, these issues. A doctor can evaluate each individual to assess potential causes for impotence and determine the proper treatment, if any, that is needed.’

 

Dr. Palaniswami continues, ‘In many cases, treatment is quite effective. Treatment depends on the cause of the impotence, and can range from stopping of a medication to treating an infection to implanting prosthetic devices to starting new medications. Sexual wellbeing is a very important part of an individual’s over-all health. Physicians and other health professionals are important resources for considering your sexual health into your over-all health management.’

 

 

2. I don’t like using condoms, but if I get a vasectomy will it be reversible? According to Dr. Palaniswami, ‘Vasectomy can be a very effective method of birth control. Usually, a condom should continue to be used for the first three to six months after a vasectomy as there could be sperm stored in the vas deferens (the conduit which sperm uses to travel out of the testicles and through the penis.) More importantly, condoms protect from the transmission of sexually transmitted disease. Vasectomy offers no such defence. Once done, vasectomy is potentially reversible, but the success of reversing the procedure varies. Scarring from the initial procedure can cause irreversible damage to the vas deferens making a revision of the vasectomy impossible.’

 

Dr. Palaniswami adds, ‘Pregnancy rates after reversing vasectomy can be reduced by up to 50%…If vasectomy is desired, an option for future offspring may be to store sperm in a sperm bank in case the vasectomy is permanent. Prior to planning such a procedure, careful consultation with your primary care physician and a urologist should occur so that you fully understand the risks involved.’

 

 

3. Following my annual prostate exam, my doctor told me my PSA was normal, but what is it? ‘PSA stands for Prostate Specific Antigen and is a marker in the blood that is made almost exclusively by the prostate,’ says Dr. Palaniswami. ‘Recently, it has become the standard of care to check a PSA level in men over the age of fifty…A level of less than four is normal, while a level greater than 10 indicates a greater than two-thirds chance cancer being present. A study at the University of Washington in 1995 seemed to indicate that using this marker can catch up to 97% of prostatic cancers at the most easily-curable stage, that is, when the cancer is only in the prostate. The drawback to this test is that PSA can also go up with conditions that aren’t cancerous, such as an infection of the prostate (prostatitis), inflammation of the prostate from a nearby infection, or in a common condition called benign prostatic hypertrophy which is a benign enlargement of the prostate.’

Categories: dr palaniswami, health, Impotence, nbsp, nbsp dr, nbsp nbsp, prostate, psa testing, sexual health, vas deferens, vasectomy

Vasectomy: A Guide to the Procedure

A vasectomy is considered to be a permanent form of contraception which can stop you from getting your partner pregnant – however, one in 2,000 men will still impregnate their partner after a vasectomy procedure. It also doesn’t protect against sexually transmitted infections, meaning that if you’re sleeping with a new partner, you will still need to use protection. A common myth, a vasectomy doesn’t affect your sex drive or your ability to enjoy sex – you’ll still be able to get erections and the same amount of semen will still be produced when you ejaculate. The only difference is that the semen produced after a vasectomy won’t contain sperm. This procedure is permanent, so it’s vital that you’re sure that you don’t want children before you go ahead with this procedure. Some men regret their decision after having a vasectomy, though this is more common in men who are under 30 and have no children. There is a process known as a vasectomy reversal, but this doesn’t guarantee that your fertility will be restored. There are alternatives to a vasectomy, such as long-term hormonal and non-hormonal contraceptives for women. Both female and male condoms are also available, which also protect against STIs.

 

Your doctor will talk you through the operation, and the various ways in which you can prepare for it. For example, you will need to stop smoking as this increases your risk of getting a wound infection, which can slow your recovery time down. There are several places this operation can be carried out, such as in a hospital, a GP practice or at a private clinic. They are usually carried out under local anaesthesia, which blocks the pain in your groin area but means you can stay awake during the operation. The operation doesn’t take very long, usually being completed in about 15 minutes. Once the anaesthetic has taken effect and been given time to work, your doctor will attempt to find the vas deferens – they may use a forceps-like instrument to create a small opening in the skin above this area, or make two cuts in you scrotum. They will then pull out a section of each vas deferens and cut each tube, which are then closed off by heating the tissues so that they seal shut, or by tying them. Your doctor will put the tubes back in your scrotum and close up the opening with either dissolvable stitches or adhesive strips.

 

The recovery period from this procedure takes about a week, but it varies between each man so it’s vital that you follow your doctor’s advice to aid recovery as best you can. Over-the-counter painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, can be effective if you need pain relief, but always read the information provided with them to ensure they’re safe. It’s advised that you wear close-fitting and supportive underwear during the day and night, for the first week which will help to support your scrotum while it heals, and ease the swelling and discomfort. You should also avoid any heavy lifting or vigorous exercise – you can have a shower, but it’s important that you dry the area carefully to avoid pulling at the wound while it heals. After the operation, some sperm does remain in the vas deferens but this varies for each man as to how long it stays there for. A few months after your operation, you’ll be asked to provide a sperm sample to test whether the procedure was effective and to see if the semen is clear of sperm. With regards to having sex after your operation, this can be whenever you feel comfortable, but you should use contraception until you have been advised that you are no longer fertile.

Categories: contraception, doctor, operation, procedure, sexual health, sperm, vas deferens, vasectomy