5 things to know about a vasectomy

Men who don’t want to father a child might choose to get a vasectomy because it’s permanent and low cost compared to other birth control options. Unlike condoms or birth control pills, there’s no ongoing cost or anything to remember.

Vasectomy is a low-risk and very effective form of male birth control. It works by preventing sperm from entering semen. Vasectomy is a quicker procedure than similar procedures for women and it comes with fewer side effects than hormonal birth control.

“The success rates are quite good,” said Joshua Bodie, MD, a urologist with M Health Fairview and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “It's more successful than tubal ligation for women. It's cheaper. It's less risky and it's more successful. The failure rates are very close to zero.”

Bodie and Mathew Hockett, MD, a family medicine doctor at M Health Fairview Clinic – Bass Lake share five things to know about vasectomy.

Vasectomy is a quick, low-risk procedure.

The procedure involves cutting the vas deferens, which is a tube that carries sperm to semen. Some primary care providers, like Hockett, do the procedure right in their clinic, but more commonly urologists do vasectomies. Either way, it’s done under local anesthetic and takes less than half an hour. The area is numbed, so it’s not painful, but people might feel some discomfort.

People generally meet with the doctor for a consultation before the procedure. Then they do a follow-up semen analysis after the procedure to confirm that it was successful. 

Recovery isn’t bad either.

Recovery is a lot faster than people think, Hockett said. You might notice some swelling or feel a bit sore for a couple of days. You can take some ibuprofen or Tylenol and use an ice pack for any pain. Avoid sex, exercise, or strenuous lifting for about a week. 

Most people can even drive themselves home after the procedure, Bodie said.

“I tell people to go home, rest, kick up their feet, and wear some snug-fitting underwear just to keep the testicles supported and protected,” Bodie said. “If you have your procedure on a Thursday and Friday and lay low over the weekend, you should be fine for desk work on Monday.”

Vasectomy doesn’t affect sexual function.

“The biggest myth about vasectomy is that it's going to change sexual function afterwards and it has no bearing on that whatsoever,” Hockett said. “All we're doing is blocking the transportation of sperm from the testicles to the outside.”

Men who have a vasectomy have no change in sexual desire or pleasure. They will still ejaculate. The fluid just will not contain sperm. Bodie says the biggest risk from the procedure is lingering pain, but that’s rare and gradually improves.

Vasectomy isn’t effective immediately.

While vasectomy is quite effective at preventing pregnancy long-term, the effects aren’t immediate.

“There's still plenty of life left in the pipes after the procedure,” Bodie said. 

It can take two to three months and 15 to 20 ejaculations to clear active sperm before you get cleared for unprotected intercourse. To confirm the procedure was successful, you’ll be asked to bring a sample to the lab for testing two or three months after the vasectomy.

Vasectomy doesn’t offer protection against sexually transmitted infections. Talk to your primary care provider about prevention and testing, if needed.

Vasectomy can be reversed, but don’t count on it.

Because no tissue is permanently damaged or removed with a vasectomy, it can be reversed. The reversal process is a surgical procedure that is more involved than the initial vasectomy. It is not typically covered by insurance. 

“As long as you plug the two ends back together, everything works just fine,” Hockett said.

Doctors can’t guarantee that a vasectomy reversal will work, so doctors recommend being certain that you won’t want to father children in the future before getting a vasectomy. But if you change your mind, you do have some options.

Some people choose to bank sperm, Bodie said. It’s also possible to retrieve sperm directly from the testicle that can be used for in vitro fertilization at a fertility center.

Learn more about urology services at M Health Fairview.