Answers to all your Vasectomy Questions

Here are six common reasons for considering a vasectomy:

• You want to enjoy sex without worrying about pregnancy.
  
• You do not want to have more children.
  
• You and your partner do not want to or cannot use other kinds of birth control.
  
• You want to save your partner from the surgery involved in having a tubal ligation, which carries a higher risk and failure rate.
  
• Your partner has health problems that might make pregnancy difficult.
  
• You do not want to risk passing on a hereditary disease or disability.
  

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Though VasectomyMedical.com does not have any expertise regarding the laws of a particular jurisdiction, usually there is no limiting reason why any man above the age of legal consent may choose to proceed with a vasectomy.

After vasectomy, a man is unchanged except for his blocked sperm tubes. Sperm make up about 1% of the ejaculate, so there will be no detectible difference in volume. The testes still produce sperm, but they are simply re-absorbed into the body. 

Vasectomy does not affect a man's sex drive, masculinity, testosterone levels or orgasm. His ability to have an erection is also fully unchanged.

Furthermore, most men report that sex is better after vasectomy because they no longer need to worry about an accidental pregnancy. With the security and peace of mind permanent contraception brings, sex can be more relaxed and spontaneous.

If you experience any problems at all, be it pain, swelling etc. see your doctor right away to receive the appropriate treatment. Should you believe you are not getting better after a reasonable amount of time then always take into consideration that seeking a second opinion from a qualified provider is a reasonable course of action.

There are no life threatening complications associated with NSV. The minor complications that can arise are generally short-lived and resolve with ice, rest, anti-inflammatories and time. 

Over the years, many questions have been raised regarding possible long-term effects of vasectomy. Claims that vasectomy causes arthritis, atherosclerosis or heart disease have long been put to rest. Other studies have suggested that vasectomy may slightly increase the risk of getting prostate cancer. Many other subsequent studies have not validated this risk. Current policy recommendations of the NIH (National Institute of Health) are:

1. All contraceptive methods carry some risks. When making decisions about contraception, each individual or couple must be informed about and weigh the various risks and benefits.
   
2. Because the results of research to date on vasectomy and prostate cancer are inconsistent and associations that have been found are weak, there is insufficient basis for recommending a change in clinical and public health practice at this time.
   
3. In light of this:

• Providers should continue offering vasectomy and performing the procedure.
  
• Screening for prostate cancer should not be any different for men who have had a vasectomy than for those who have not.
  

In the USA, many insurers cover vasectomy and prices vary from $500 to $1000.

In Canada, vasectomy is an insured service

Read main section:  Vasectomy Cost

A doctor could attempt a reversal procedure. Up to 5% of men change their minds at a later date and look for a reversal procedure.

However, a vasectomy is difficult and sometimes impossible to reverse. Chances of reversal are at best 70% within the first year after the procedure is done, and drops 10% further every year afterwards.

Considering these statistics, before the procedure is done, many men choose to buy what can be considered a type of "insurance," called sperm banking or cryopreservation. There are facilities available to store your sperm in a cyrogenic freezer for a fee in the event that the unforeseen arises later in your life and you should wish to have more children.

Vasectomy procedures now out-number tubal ligations in some cities, clearly indicating a shift in people's thinking about permanent contraception.

A tubal ligation carries a greater potential health risk for a woman than a vasectomy does for a man.

This is because a tubal ligation requires a general anesthetic, and introduces the chance of abdominal trauma during the surgery. It also increases the risk of other life-threatening complications such as an ectopic pregnancy. Consider also that a tubal ligation costs the medical system significantly more than a vasectomy.

No. A vasectomy cannot protect you from a sexually transmitted disease, including AIDS.

Condoms are still the best protection against these diseases.

A successful vasectomy is confirmed by doing semen checks (see confirming sterility); after which, there remains a small risk of failure. To elucidate this risk, if 3000 couples were sexually active and did so unprotected for 10 years, one pregnancy would result in the entire group over that 10 year period.

Given how common a vasectomy has become, it is more important than ever to learn whether the risk of cancer increases following a vasectomy. In particular, testicular cancer and prostate cancer are a concern. Information for this question is sourced from  the Cancer.gov (Cancer Institute website).

Testicular Cancer Risk: At this time, it is believed that there is either no association or a weak association between vasectomy and testicular cancer, although more research is needed before definitive conclusions can be reached.

Prostate Cancer Risk: Though researchers continue to investigate the possible relationship between vasectomy and prostate cancer, the majority of studies conducted thus far have upheld the conclusions made by the August 1998 publication by the Progress Review Group (PRG) which is a committee of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). It found that research was inconsistent; that even if having a vasectomy can increase a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer, the increase in risk is relatively small.

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