February 25th, 2016
Are you aware that approximately 7 million pregnancies in United States are unintended? According to latest statistics (1), more than 48% of these unintended pregnancies are due to failure of contraceptive techniques used.
Contraception in males is widely classified into two major types; temporary and permanent. As the name indicates, temporary sterilization refers to temporary birth control method with a 100% reversal rate and can be achieved by various means such as physical barrier method (condoms), abstinence, chemical method (use of spermicidal jellies) etc. On the contrary, permanent sterilization is usually achieved by vasectomy – an out-patient minor surgical procedure that is irreversible.
Male sterilization is performed by either of the two popular techniques:
Based on a new study reported in the Journal of Urology (3) investigators analyzed the results of vasectomies performed in 1,429 patients via either of the two techniques listed above and concluded that no-scalpel approach (NSV) is more superior and less painful than NNV approach.
You may be an ideal candidate for male sterilization procedure if:
After vasectomy, the patient can still be able to produce semen (as well as reach climax and ejaculate normally), but there will be no sperms in the semen; hence no chance of impregnating the partner. But it is important to keep in mind that it may take up to 3 months for sperms to completely clear off from the ejaculate.
Unlike most temporary methods of contraception, male sterilization has a very low failure rate (0.10 to 0.15%). Other benefits of male sterilization are:
The procedure is highly safe; but in some susceptible patients, following side effects may occur:
It is imperative to follow post-procedure instructions given by your healthcare professional. This out-patient procedure is highly safe and effective. The patient can resume normal sexual functions just one week after the procedure. It is important to mention that some type of protection must be used until you get a negative sperm test (usually performed after 3 months of performing the procedure). Also, vasectomy can only stop you from unwanted pregnancies, but does not provide any protection against sexually transmitted diseases. In other words, you should continue to practice caution in chance encounters to minimize the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections.
1. https://www.hhs.gov/opa/reproductive-health/contraception/male-sterilization
2. Bartz, D., & Greenberg, J. A. (2008). Sterilization in the United States. Rev Obstet Gynecol, 1(1), 23-32.
3. SOKAL, D., McMULLEN, S. U. S. A. N., GATES, D., DOMINIK, R., & TEAM, T. M. S. I. (1999). A comparative study of the no scalpel and standard incision approaches to vasectomy in 5 countries. The Journal of urology, 162(5), 1621-1625.
4. Jamieson DJ, Kaufman SC, Costello C, et al. A comparison of women’s regret after vasectomy versus tubal sterilization. Obstet Gynecol. 2002; 99:1073-1079.
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