Vasectomy Reversal Facts

Are you considering a vasectomy reversal? Thousands of men undergo vasectomy each year as a means of permanent birth control, but for some people bring unexpected turns life, which makes them change their minds. For some people, there is a strong desire to have children again several years later. For others, there may be a tragic loss of a child. For many men, a new marriage brings new opportunities to create a family. Regardless of the circumstances, a vasectomy can be reversed.

When a man's consent to undergo a vasectomy, he is usually instructed that the procedure should be considered permanent and irreversible. This is an appropriate warning, because a vasectomy reversal is not 100% guaranteed to work, and it is significantly more complex operation than a vasectomy. Therefore, before undergoing a vasectomy, a man must be as sure as possible he was finished having children. Nevertheless, even the most profound, a wise decision can ultimately prove wrong. When the decision is a vasectomy, men could still change his mind.

What is a vasectomy? 



To understand the vasectomy reversal, it is important to understand the vasectomy. A vasectomy is the surgical removal of a small piece of the vas deferens. The vas deferens is the long narrow muscular tube through which sperm travel from the testicle to the urethra. It feels like a piece of undercooked spaghetti in each side of the scrotum. The sperm are produced in the testicle, and then they exit out the top of the testicle and into the epididymis. The epididymis is a very tiny, tightly coiled tubule, which runs along the back of the testicle from top to bottom.

It then turns a corner, heading back north towards the pelvis, and becomes the thicker, straighter vas deferens. During ejaculation, the muscular walls of the vas deferens tube contract to propel the sperm up to the urethra of the prostate. In the urethra, the sperm are then joined by fluids from the prostate and then ejaculated out of the penis.

When a vasectomy is performed, the doctor feels for these "pieces of spaghetti" and surgically removes a small segment of vas deferens from each side. The cut ends are then clipped, sutured or cauterized. Suddenly, the sperm can go no further than this new point of blockage.

So what happens to all the sperm?

What most men do not realize is that once the vasectomy is performed, sperm production does not stop! Ever! Unlike women, men produce their gametes (sperm) for their lifetime. A vasectomy does not stop sperm production, but just blocking the entry of sperm into the urethra. Like other cells, the sperm are blocked in turn broken down and absorbed by the body. New sperm are continually produced. A variable amount of pressure can build up in the tubes behind the vasectomy scar. In some cases, pressure builds up so much that the tiny tubules epididymis can rupture. This is often referred to as an epididymal "blow." If this happens, the site of a blow out develops scar tissue, and this is really a new level of blockage in the sperm. It is not painful or dangerous, but significant in that for a vasectomy reversal to be successful, it must be done in such a way that bypasses this new level of blockage of the epididymal blow out site.

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