Vasectomy and Vasectomy Reversal

• One of the most effective forms of birth control, with effectiveness up to 99 percent in preventing pregnancy once you are cleared by your urologist. 
• Does not affect your sex drive, pleasure, ejaculate or ability to have an erection.
• No interruption in sexual activity to put on a condom or insert a diaphragm. 

• A vasectomy is a procedure to stop flow in the vas deferens, the tube that carries sperm into your semen.   
• Following a vasectomy, you still produce semen and can ejaculate. Because your semen won’t contain sperm, a woman’s egg can’t be fertilized after sexual intercourse. 

Hackensack Meridian Health urologists specialize in the no-scalpel approach to perform vasectomy. The procedure takes about 20-30 minutes in the urologist’s office. 

• A local anesthetic is used to numb the area. You may feel a slight pulling sensation  during the procedure. 
• A small opening is made through the scrotum skin with a special instrument. One portion of the vas deferens is lifted through the opening. The tube is cut and the ends are either tied off or sealed with heat before being returned to the scrotum. The process is repeated for the other vas deferens. 
• The small opening will heal without stitches. 
• You may leave following the procedure to recover in the comfort of your home. 

• You may experience mild discomfort the day of your procedure. Icing your scrotum and pain relievers such as acetaminophen are recommended. 
• You should be able to resume your usual activities within 24 hours and sexual relations after one to two weeks.
• The vasectomy is not effective right away. You will need to bring semen samples to the lab for analysis. You will be cleared by your urologist once your semen shows no trace of sperm (usually in three to four months). Until then, another form of birth control is recommended.