Concerns

Let’s deal with the big worries first.

There have been concerns about heart disease, arthritis and cancer of testicle and prostate. Vasectomy is not blamed for these any longer

Bruising and Discoloration

Fairly extensive discolouration of the scrotum is common. A pea sized lump at the operation site in response to suture material is usual for a few weeks.

Infection

With the antibiotics taken before the procedure and other basic care, infection is now very rare. If you develop redness and soreness or feel unwell within a few days, let us or your doctor know.

Bleeding

By creating small ‘raw’ areas there is always a chance of internal bleeding – this risk diminishes rapidly each day but warrants complete rest on the first day and a quiet second day. The chance of troublesome internal bleeding happening is about 1 in 500 – although it’s not dangerous the internal blood clot remains a nuisance for several weeks, and is enough to make you wish you’d gone to the pictures instead.

Failure

The chance of immediate failure is about 1 in 1000 short term and is easily detected by the important post-op sperm test. Long term failure runs at 1 in 10,000 and is considerably less than any other kind of contraception.

Spermatic Granuloma

After several months about 1 in 500 (probably less with current method) will develop an annoying lump on one side that causes pain before ejaculation. If this is bad enough it may need removal.

Post Vasectomy Soreness

About 1 in 500 return with low grade pain without obvious cause, these people need an ultrasound scan and a urologist’s opinion.