FAQS

A vasectomy is a sterilisation procedure performed on men to prevent them having any more children. It is the safest & most effective method of birth control. It is more reliable and much cheaper than female sterilisation (tubal ligation) and can be performed under local anaesthetic with minimal discomfort, using the no scapel technique. More here.

You should consider having a vasectomy if you are quite sure you don’t want any more children and you want permanent reliable contraception. More here.

A local anaesthetic injection is given into the scrotum below the penis, well away from the testicles. This works very quickly to completely numb the region, after which no pain should be felt.

A small puncture wound is made in the skin of the scrotum and each vas is gently pulled out through this. A segment of each vas is removed and the cut ends of the vas are cauterized to seal them off. The vas ends are then tied off with small sutures to stop sperm escaping and then separated from each other to minimize the risk of spontaneous reconnection.

The operation normally takes only 20-30 minutes. Most men are pleasantly surprised at how quick and painless the procedure is.

The skin wound is so small it does not require stitching. It will heal in a few days. The internal sutures dissolve with time.

Our clinic has two very experienced doctors who perform this procedure. More here.

We find that most men don’t need any sedation but a mild sedative is available if required.

You should plan to rest over the weekend. A little bruising, swelling and mild discomfort in the scrotum is normal for a few days. Panadol is generally all that is required for pain relief.

Most men are able to return to work on the Monday following the operation although strenuous exercise and exertion are best avoided for 7–10 days.

You will not notice any difference following the operation as vasectomy does not affect erectile or orgasmic function.

Intercourse may be resumed as soon as you are comfortable, usually within a week, but you will need to continue using contraception until sperm counts show that your semen is completely clear of sperm. This normally takes about 20 ejaculations to clear the sperm from the vas deferens and seminal vesicles “downstream” from the operation site. However this varies from person to person.

Sperm counts should be done after 20 ejaculations or 3 months after vasectomy to check that the semen no longer contains sperm. It is very important to do this before stopping other contraception as there is a very small chance (1 in 1000) of failure, which can happen if the cut ends of the sperm cords reconnect. Because of this we strongly advise having 2 negative sperm counts before stopping other methods of contraception.

There is a very small risk of failure, less than 1%, and certainly less than for female sterilization . This may occasionally occur from operative failure which will be detected when the sperm count is done.

Secondary failure through spontaneous reconnection of the sperm cords is extremely rare, less than 1 in 1000.

Whilst it is possible to reverse a vasectomy, it is a much more difficult operation, usually performed by a urologist. It requires microsurgery to reconnect the tubes and is normally carried out under a general anaesthetic. It is only available privately and currently costs about $6000.

The longer the interval between vasectomy and reversal the smaller the chance of success. Overall there is about a 50% chance of conceiving again after vasectomy reversal. For these reasons it is very important to be sure of your decision before having a vasectomy.

The sperm get reabsorbed by the body’s immune system.

If you would like peace of mind against a change of circumstances you can arrange to have sperm stored. Please note there is a fee for each sample frozen and an annual charge to maintain frozen sperm. You may wish to consider becoming a sperm donor to enable infertile couples to have children.