Vasectomy and vasectomy reversal
Vasectomies are one of the most common procedures performed by urologists worldwide and our team at Prevea Health is no exception. When it comes to having a vasectomy it’s natural to be nervous and have questions. We’ll try to take some of that fear out of a vasectomy and address some of the most frequently asked questions.
Vasectomy FAQs
The procedure is performed in our urologists’ office.
You will be awake the entire time.
Your scrotum is shaved and cleaned. Then, the surgeon will inject a shot of numbing medicine into the area.
The urologist will make a small cut in the upper part of your scrotum. The vas deferens will then be tied off and cut apart.
The wound will be closed with stitches or surgical glue.
You may have a vasectomy without a surgical cut. This is called a no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV) and it’s performed by our urologist in Sheboygan.
For this procedure:
- The procedure is performed in our urologists’ office
- You will be awake the entire time.
- The urologist will find the vas deferens by feeling your scrotum.
- You will get numbing medicine.
- The urologist will then make a tiny hole in the skin of your scrotum and then clip the ends of the vas deferens.
- In a regular vasectomy, a small incision is made on each side of the scrotum. In a no-scalpel vasectomy, a sharp instrument is used to pierce the skin and make a single opening.
Your scrotum will be bandaged.
Once the numbness wears off, your scrotum may feel tender or uncomfortable.
Bruising and swelling are also normal.
You should be able to urinate without any issue, but you may feel some discomfort.
You can go back to performing light activities after a few days.
You may experience discomfort for up to a week as the tissue heals. Several weeks after your vasectomy, you will be asked to come back to the office to have your sperm count checked. It usually takes several weeks to ejaculate without sperm in your semen.As with any procedure, it’s important to understand what the possible complications may be. While rare, the most common complications include bleeding, development of a hematoma (localized bleeding outside of blood vessels) and infection of the scrotal incision site.
Following vasectomy, a small fraction of men (one to two percent) experience chronic pain, also called post-vasectomy pain syndrome (PVPS). This is classified as a man having constant or intermittent testicular pain for greater than three months. This pain interferes with quality of life and requires some degree of medical treatment. Talk to your doctor if this occurs.