Pregnancy After Vasectomy
Contents:
- Chance and Pregnancy After Vasectomy
- How to Get Pregnant if Your Partner Has Made a Vasectomy
- How We Got Pregnant After My Husband's Vasectomy
Chance and Pregnancy After Vasectomy
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure that is performed in order to prevent pregnancy. This is male sterilization, and the chance of getting pregnant after vasectomy is very small. It is believed that the effectiveness of vasectomy is 99 %, the more time passes since the surgery, the less are the chances to conceive.
Vasectomy is a simple outpatient procedure that is performed in less than 30 minutes. Your doctor or urologist can perform it in his office. It is possible to make this surgery using a scalpel or a laser. The doctor makes a small incision or puncture on the side of the scrotum under local anesthesia. Then the surgeon makes an incision of vas deferens that resembles to sperm tubes, and seals or cauterizes one end of the vas. A scalpel surgery may involve suturing, while a laser surgery is stitch less.
After the removal of the ejaculatory duct fragments, the sperm cannot enter the semen that makes it’s impossible to get pregnant after the vasectomy is completed.
Within a few months following the surgery, the doctor examines the semen samples under a microscope for the presence of viable sperm. This is done to make sure that the ejaculatory ducts don’t contain sperm. Couples are usually advised to use additional contraceptive methods within 3-6 months after the procedure. However, the risk of pregnancy after undergoing a vasectomy exists mainly because patients miss postoperative doctor visits and do not use additional contraceptive methods.
In very rare cases the ends of vas deferens ends reconnect after the vasectomy.
This is called the recanalization, it can occur because sperm and white blood cells remain in the deferens’ scar tissue which contributes to its reconnection. The risk of recanalization is the highest during the first few months after the surgery; however, it may occur in the following years as well. Although the recanalization happens in 1 out of 2000 patients, the chances to get pregnant still exist, if the sperm mix with the semen.
Some men, who have undergone vasectomy, may change their mind and want to conceive a child. In this case, it is possible to grow back the deferens after the vasectomy. After the vasectomy the sperm are still produced, they simply cannot enter the semen. The chances to get pregnant after the vasectomy reversal are about 65%, although this figure may vary depending on the age of the couple and the time passed since the initial procedure.
How to Get Pregnant if Your Partner Has Made a Vasectomy
Vasectomy Reversal
- Your partner should go to an urologist. It is the doctor who specializes in the male reproductive system.
- Ask for a day off to accompany your partner when he will undergo the vasectomy reversal. This procedure can be performed directly in the doctor's office using only local anesthesia to numb the scrotum. It is relatively fast (about 30 minutes).
- Allow the doctor to perform the procedure. Sperm are produced in the testicles, then goes into the epididymis to ripen. They travel from the epididymis through the vas deferens to the urethra to await ejaculation. During the initial vasectomy, the vas deferens is resected to prevent the exit of semen during ejaculation.
- Help your partner to recover after the vasectomy reversal. Recovery from such a procedure normally takes no more than a few days.
- Abstain from sexual activity for at least one week after the procedure. Sometimes couples abstain from sex for a few weeks after the procedure, because some men experience discomfort (and sometimes spotting) during ejaculation.
- Your partner should attend follow-up appointments. The urologist will probably appoint follow-up visits to check your partner's sperm counts, and to assess whether the procedure was successful.
- Understand that if your partner's vasectomy is successfully, you will be able to get pregnant just like any other couple. In other words, you will have the same chance of getting pregnant during the sexual intercourse after vasectomy reversal, as other couples trying to conceive.