Vasectomy Reversal Pitfalls
Unfortunately, there are many patients who receive poor microsurgical care by physicians who do not have the proper expertise and who commercialize vasectomy reversal for easy profit. So there are many traps to watch out for when choosing a doctor to perform your reversal.
For example, some doctors will offer a “money back guarantee,” but patients rarely get their money back after a failed procedure despite promises to the contrary. We have operated on many patients whose previous vasectomy reversal attempts at “money back guarantee centers” had failed, and none of these patients have ever gotten their money back. There was always some fine print wording that allowed the clinic to keep their money despite the “money back guarantee.”
In most so-called “centers,” the only procedure performed to reverse the vasectomy is “vasovasostomy” to try to reconnect the severed vas. However, in most cases there is also “epididymal” blockage (closer to the testicles) created by the pressure build-up after vasectomy. Thus, there is no chance for most cases of “vasovasostomy” to be a success, because there is also blockage in the more delicate duct closer to the testis, and this would have to be bypassed also with a very tricky-to-perform “vasoepididymostomy” [technical video] in order to have a successful result.
Another trap is that these less successful commercial operations are always performed at little outpatient centers or clinics, and not at a major hospital like St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis. Therefore, the patient is sent home, or to his hotel room, only a few hours after his operation. The natural consequence is often a huge amount of pain and swelling, and several miserable months of post- operative recovery. We think it is imperative for the patient to stay overnight for one night in the hospital, with drains in place and nurses changing the dressings, which prevents pain and swelling and results in a faster and much more pleasant post-operative recovery. When we “redo” a messed up “vasovasostomy” done elsewhere that had failed, despite it being a bigger operation to bypass all the scar tissue created by the previous failure, our patients are elated by how little pain and swelling they had to endure compared to their original failed reversal surgery in an outpatient office or clinic setting.
In fact, the only reason to do this operation in such an office or clinic setting is to save expense and make more money on the procedure. We do not condone this common practice. Furthermore, if cost is the important issue (and it is for many people), it is far less cost effective to have a “vasovasostomy” that fails, with significant pain and swelling afterwards, than to just do it right in the proper hospital setting the first time.
The next big trap is that clinics that cannot perform the delicate microsurgery required, will suggest you do sperm retrieval and IVF (in vitro fertilization) instead of vasectomy reversal. We have nothing against sperm retrieval and IVF, since it is our center at St. Luke’s Hospital that actually invented it in 1987, over 20 years ago. However, we invented it as a second choice approach for those in whom a reversal was not possible because of a complete absence of the vas deferens. Otherwise, it is so much nicer just to have one operation that restores your original fertility, without your wife having to go through months and months of painful injections involved in IVF, with a pregnancy rate lower than what you would achieve through natural intercourse once you have had a successful reversal.
Finally, it is important to realize that the testicles and the scrotum are a very private and sensitive area for most men. You don't want to have a compromised procedure on that area of the body performed in the “procedure room” of an office based clinic, rather than in a proper operating room of a high quality hospital.
Read more vasectomy reversal on infertile.com >
If you have any questions, you may call us at (314) 576-1400 or contact us.