Let's Dissect the Vasectomy
Wednesday, June 1, 2011 A couple of weeks ago when we were having one of those peaceful family dinners, I asked my partner if I could blog and tweet about his vasectomy, which was scheduled for the next day. My mother, who was staying with us, choked on her wine. My partner, much less phased by this request, said "sure, if it will help someone else."
Being Done
"Vasectomy should be considered permanent and irreversible. Don't be fooled by claims of reversible vasectomies...there is no such thing. If you attempt to reverse your vasectomy within the first three years of having it done, you have about a 70% chance of success (this falls considerably after ten years)." - Vasectomy.ca
The decision to get married, to have a child, to have a second child, and to be done having children all seemed to come fairly easily to us. The timing of each either made sense or felt right or both. We always had practical reasons for making those decisions and the emotional side seemed to follow along fairly easily.
I'd love to have more children. The sensation of snuggling up with and nursing a fresh newborn baby is something I would like to do over and over again. But, doing that would mean giving up other goals and dreams and making other substantive changes to our lives that neither of us is prepared to make.
We have two wonderful and exhausting children that complete our life. We were ready to make the permanent and irreversible decision to close the book on baby making.
Why a Vasectomy?
For every man who has a vasectomy, four women have a tubal ligation. - Joy Thompson from Planned Parenthood in Toronto Sun
A lot of people asked why we opted for a vasectomy. The answer seems fairly obvious to me. First, I had taken care of birth control for the past 16 years and as a couple that believes in equality, I guess that means it is his turn for the next 16 years.
In the man's case, it's a vasectomy. A quick, internal snip in the scrotum with a knife using a local anesthetic. It takes about 10 minutes, results in a few days of discomfort and heralds a condom- and baby- free future. Unfortunately, according to family therapists, some men believe a vasectomy will make them less of a man and refuse to take the plunge. For women, sterilization isn't quite as simple. Tubal ligation, as its known, requires surgery under general anesthetic -- in itself more risky -- to sever the fallopian tubes. - Steve Payne for the Toronto Sun
Second, if a man can undergo a short (less than 15 minute) outpatient procedure with local anesthetic, why should the woman be subject to major surgery? The third issue is the cost. Although both procedures are covered by public health care in Canada, the cost to the health care system (and therefore taxpayers like us) is about five times as much for a tubal ligation as for a vasectomy.
Ultimately, while each couple needs to make their own decision, I don't see any reason why someone would opt for tubal ligation over a vasectomy, except perhaps in cases of abuse where a woman is trying to ensure her abuser cannot get her pregnant again. Maybe there are other reasons and I'm sure my readers will enlighten me if there are.
The King of Vasectomies
Ottawa has a king of vasectomies. Almost everyone (like 99.9%) of people here seem to go to Dr. Weiss, who has performed more than 31,000 no-scalpel vasectomies from his office on a residential street in the Glebe. No hospital, no long waits, no astronomical parking charges, no knife. There was no question. We went to Dr. Weiss.
Q. What happens if I get an erection during the procedure?
A. Funny you should ask. Out of some 31,000+ vasectomies, I have seen this occur only once. It is not an issue. - Vasectomy.ca
Preparation
My partner had to pick up a preparation package in advance of his vasectomy. It included detailed instructions (with visuals!) on how to shave, a surgical razor, a support to wear on the day of the vasectomy, a prescription for the Valium to take an hour before the procedure and pain medication for after the procedure, an ice pack and a few other random items.
V Day
My partner had the "all in one" vasectomy, which means that he had his consultation and vasectomy all in one day. "Consultation, what consultation?" is what he said when I asked him about it. Essentially, he registered online, was given a time and date for his appointment,picked up the preparatory package, shaved, popped a Valium, and went to his appointment.
I had no interest in "cutting the tubes," so this wasn't an issue. When we arrived at the clinic (about 25 minutes early), we had barely sat down when he got called in. The procedure itself took no more than 10 minutes, didn't hurt at all, and he got a Coke when he was finished. All in all, less pain and less fuss than giving blood. We then had to sit in the waiting room for another 15 minutes before we were allowed to leave. We left the clinic before the actual scheduled time of his appointment. Easy and quick.
Having this procedure, like any other, obviously requires you to trust that your health care provider knows what they are doing. With 31,000 vasectomies behind him, we felt pretty confident going to Dr. Weiss.
Q. What happens if you cut the wrong tube?
A. That would be terrible! If the testicular artery were cut, it might result in loss of the testicle. Fortunately, this is not a common problem and has never occurred in Dr. Weiss’ career. - Vasectomy.ca
Q. Can my wife cut the tubes?
A. Not unless you're having the baby. Secondly, did you ask her if she wanted to? Third, unlike a birth, everything is sterile...so, sorry, but no. Vasectomy.ca
The Recovery
"Mommy, you have to bring me to bed tonight because Daddy's tentacles hurt." - Julian, age 6
The day of the vasectomy, after I brought him home, my partner sat down on the couch and watched a movie. He iced the area off and on with the ice pack that was provided to him by the doctor, but didn't even need the pain medication. I did the dishes and put the kids to bed that evening, but otherwise he was relatively low maintenance. ;) Nowhere near as bad as a man cold. For several days, he had periods of feeling slightly uncomfortable, like he had sat down wrong, but otherwise said that it was pretty easy to deal with.
In addition to the physical recovery, there is the clearing of the tubes. It takes about 12 weeks until the risk of getting pregnant is gone, so couples who don't want a "surprise" baby still have to take precautions for a little while.
After the short recovery period, everything is back to normal. Life goes on, but no more worries about birth control after the 12 week waiting period has passed. I no longer have to pump my body full of hormones or jump through other hoops to ensure that I don't get pregnant again. We're done. :)
Q. Am I going to gain weight after my vasectomy?
A. Only if you eat too much and don’t exercise enough. - Vasectomy.ca
Q. Do I have to ejaculate 20 times before doing the test?
A. What you tell your partner is your business…but time is more important than the number of ejaculations. Do your test at least 12 weeks after the vasectomy regardless of the number of ejaculations, although I recommend as many as possible. - Vasectomy.ca
More Stories
You want to read more about vasectomies, don't you? Check out these other vasectomy posts from people in my social network:
- Andrea from a Peek Inside the Fishbowl: Dr. Snip
- Julie from Mabel's Labels: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Vasectomy Clinic
- Dani from Postcards from the Mothership: Beloved Visits Dr. Zap
- Karen from The Kids Are Alright: Worst Nurse
- Wildsau: V is for Vasectomy
- Matt Haughey: My Vasectomy
Image credit: kevjblack on flickr
Reader Comments (71)
Thank you so much for sharing this, Annie. We are at least a couple of years away from a vasectomy (I'm newly pregnant and we plan to wait at least a year after this next child is born before deciding), but I will definitely send Tim this way when his time comes. :-)
(As a silly side note, we've often talked about scheduling his vasectomy around the U.S. college basketball tournament. As he thinks of it, if he has to "sit around all day," he'd like to do it while some great college basketball is playing on the television. Ha!)
We're not ready to take a permanent step, but we've agreed that when we're certain we're finished having children, my husband will get a vasectomy. It feels like a no-brainer, especially after I've given birth twice.
What strikes me as funny, though, is that Vancouver has a "king of vasectomies", too. It's Dr. Pollock. He's also the "king of circumcisions", which is possibly slightly touchy for those of us who don't believe in circumcision, but honestly, I'd be inclined to choose him for the same reason you chose Dr. Weiss.
I have no idea if you have it in Canada but I'm surprised you didn't mention Essure since it's also an alternative to a tubal ligation - I'm scheduled to have it done in a couple of weeks. It's performed in the doctor's office just like a vasectomy and they both cost the same under our insurance plan. Initially my husband was going to have a vasectomy too but after doing research and talking to my doctor about Essure I opted for it - in fact, my doctor said there are fewer complications and less reported pain from it than from a v. Plus, for me, at the end of the day I know I'm 100% done having biological children. If God forbid I died or we divorced some day, he'd still be open to having more with someone else... so that settled it for me.
No worries, Alex. I got your point the first time.
Hi Annie - great post! thank you (and your husband) for sharing what the experience was like. Julie
Esther:
Thank you for the comment.
I wasn't familiar with Essure. It looks like it is available in Canada.
I still think we would have opted for the vasectomy at this point. Being able to go with Dr. Weiss with 31,000 vasectomies behind him and lots of evidence on the procedure over a long period of time is more reassuring to me than having a new procedure with a doctor who hasn't performed that many of them.
Kristen:
If that is the case, I hope he isn't one of those guys who jumps up and down during the game when things get exciting!
Hi Alex,
Lactational amenorrhea (no ovulation or periods due to breastfeeding) has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer due to the natural reduction in estrogen levels during that time - the longer the better. I did not get my period back for 19 months after my first child, and 11 months with child #2. I would be very surprised if using a synthetic drug provided the same benefit without contributing risk as well.
If you do not currently have the option of getting pregnant and breastfeeding :-) an even more profound and perhaps surprising impact on estrogen levels comes from diet - if you eat a "Western" style amount of meat and dairy, not only is your normal estrogen level higher than, say, a Japanese woman eating very little of these, but ovulation starts several years earlier in your life and ends several years later, also contributing to your lifetime estrogen exposure. This dietary effect on hormone levels is immediate. This is strongly linked to the much higher rates of cancer and other hormone-dependent diseases in "Western" society compared to other cultures.
For more details, check out publications by Dr John McDougall (A Challenging Second Opinion or on the web http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hormone.html).
Maman, it can sometimes be hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes. For myself, I had an extraordinarily traumatic first birth (I almost died and then had a 3 3/4 lb baby to raise), and just managed to cope with a second pregnancy with a more "routine" emergency cesarean and a more normal sized baby. Originally, I wanted homebirths. I am 40, have two wonderful children and an overwhelming fear of another "birth" experience where I am forced under the mercy of painful and frightening hospital routines.
We chose a vasectomy for similar reasons as y'all except we only knew that we were done being pregnant (we may still adopt down the road). I don't understand guys who refuse to get it done. When I asked my partner if he was sure, he said: I would only ever want to get you pregnant and we don't want to get pregnant anymore.
Done.
PS. I did write a post on the 12 week "drop-off" post-vasectomy: http://www.lateenough.com/2010/05/the-most-awkward-errand-ever/
Oh man, I'm dying laughing over here! He's not a very animated sports-watcher, but I think I will have to pass on this warning when V-Day arrives.
I appreciate your post and all of the good information you have on the procedure, but I must admit that I'm a little surprised that you guys went this route. I know it is not fair or correct to draw parallels, but given how you feel about circumcision, I was a little surprised to see that you were so pro-vasectomy. I respect you and your partner making the informed decision to go ahead with it, but I don't think we will be going that route.
manders:
In my mind, it is pretty simple. I am against infant circumcision, not adult circumcision. If a man wants to choose circumcision as an adult, I have no problem with that. I do, however, have a problem with unnecessary medical procedures being performed on people who are too young to make that decision themselves.
That said, I don't see a lot of similarities between the two procedures other than that they both involve the penis.
Kristin, your doctor gave you incorrect information. The IUDs, both the Mirena and the Paraguard do NOT act to prevent implantation. The paraguard utilizes copper to create a hostile environment in the womb so that sperm cannot pass, and the Mirena functions just as hormonal BCP to prevent ovulation from taking place.
While the Mirena is as effective as a tubal ligation, and the paraguard is almost as effective as a tubal ligation, neither are completely permanent and without side effects.
[...] is, of course, referring to his father’s recent vasectomy, which he knows means that we are not having any more children, a fact that he will gladly share [...]
I know .any women opt to get a tubal ligation if they end up with a c-section with their last child, but I really wish that more thought was put into this. I know someone who had this but her baby ended up passing away during her first month of life. It is an incredibly sad situation. It's been over a year now and they want to have another child, but OHIP will not pay for a tubal ligation reversal, nor fertility treatments because it was her choice to get it in the first place. If they had waited to have her husband have a vasectomy, then they wouldn't be in the situation they're in now.
[...] you ever wanted to know about vasectomy - deciding to have one, getting it done, and recovering from [...]
I have an issue changing any body for any reason from the way it was made. As long as it is a person's decision and they are old enough to sign away their rights to sue I really cannot do anything. However, I have told my husband that he can have a vasectomy if he wants, but not to expect me to support that decision. Sounds to me like he would be fine with or without my help anyway.
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we learned about fertilitycare about 2 years ago. its natural family planning basically.
i had just come off the mirena (that thing is evil) which i got after having my son, and before that i believe we used the pill. the pill made me crazy, the mirena gave me hair loss, itchy scalp, and a host of anxiety and depression problems.
fertilitycare is fantastic! its basically a "health tracking" of your own cycles. you track symptoms of your health down there simply by watching for mucus when you wipe. the type of mucus can tell you if you're fertile, and you just avoid during those times. we used it for 11 months while trying to get pregnant after the mirena (which can render you infertile for up to a year after removal!)
my husband is considering this anyway. it would make things easier, but we will see. i dont care either way, its his decision and he knows that im not going to be having any surgeries unless its life or death, so its up to him and the little 10 minute appt. he is friends with a man whos had it done, so i know hes got some man to man info on it already, which is encouraging.
anyway. fertilitycare is a life long choice, where neither of you has to go through any procedures, and become infertile. it also is important to be able to track your own health as i said, many women have detected health issues before they would have otherwise been detected simply by watching their charting activity. its pretty great! :)
Yeah, my partner was brow-beaten into a vasectomy by his emotionally abusive ex wife, less than a year after their child was born, and in less than another year she would leave him for someone else. Now, granted, this is not the fault of the vasectomy procedure. But I just wanted to share that it can be abusively used. We can't afford to have it reversed, surprise surprise, she took him to the cleaners.
Have you looked into the complication incidence? The painful ejaculation afterwards is pretty common. He dealt with that for at least a year afterward. I don't think the side effects should be downplayed.