Our
approach
Everything you need to know about the Before During and After.
How to prepare for your vasectomy
Booking
We’ve made it easy to find a clinic time that suits you. Much like booking a haircut you can do this completely via our website. You can always email or give us a call if you need to make a change.
Vasectomy in a nutshell
Before consenting for any procedure you should be fully informed about the potential benefits and potential risks.
Benefits.
- A vasectomy is a very effective form of long term contraception. It fails in 1/2000 vasectomies. We compare this number with other forms of contraception below.
- 300x more effective than regular condom use.
- 160x more effective than contraceptive tablets.
- 20x more effective than IUD.
- 10x more effective than tubal ligation (women getting their tubes tied).
- There are no day to day considerations like taking a daily contraceptive pill.
- There are no hormonal effects like the IUD/implant or contraceptive tablets.
- There’s no annoying condoms to ruin the pleasure of a healthy sex life with your partner.
- The procedure is quick, simple, easy to recover from, and complications are rare.
- The procedure is inexpensive.
Every procedure has its risks. A vasectomy by an experienced doctor is considered a low risk procedure. Here are the main risks you should consider.
- Infection 1%
- We mitigate this risk by giving you a 24 hour course of antibiotics.
- Infections are generally manageable with a course of antibiotics.
- Bruising / haematoma 1%
- The best thing you can do to reduce this chance is take our advice to take it easy for a week.
- Haematomas generally do not require treatment and will resolve with time.
- Early failure 0.2% (1/500)
- Our doctor proudly boasts a lower failure rate than most dedicated vasectomy clinics. He attributes this to our modern surgical technique and experience.
- If your vasectomy does not work we offer a repeat procedure at no extra cost as long as a repeat procedure is technically possible.
- Late failure 0.05% (1/2000)
- This is a very rare risk and compares favorably with other forms of contraception.
- Soreness / chronic testicular pain 1%
- Soreness is expected after having a procedure. The majority (>90%) of men will have soreness for up to a week. The soreness is managed well with the pain relief we prescribe you. Some men will have soreness which last a couple weeks. These guys are likely to have over exerted themselves too early and prolonged their recovery phase. A much smaller group of men might have soreness lasting more than a few months. This group is estimated at less than 1%. Importantly the discomfort is generally not constant, and is manageable with medications.
Consent form
It goes without saying, but its important to highlight that, as with any medical procedure you can withdraw your consent at any time even if you have already submitted your signed consent form. If you decide not to have the vasectomy you’ll receive a full refund.
Medications
During your appointment we will supply you with medications as listed below
1. Ibuprofen 800mg twice daily
2. Antibiotics for 24 hours only
If you are taking the premedication you will be able to collect this prescription from your chosen pharmacy. Prescriptions are typically sent out 1 week prior. The system notifies you by text when a prescription is sent.
Follow this link to find out more
Getting ready for the procedure
As the procedure is done under local anaesthetic there aren’t many requirements. Unlike a major operation you can eat and drink like normal.
Generally good hygiene is advisable but no specific grooming is required.
If you are taking pre-medication this should be taken about 1 hour prior to your vasectomy.
The procedure
Examination
Once you are ready you’ll get onto the examination table.
The first step of the operation is to examine the scrotum and ensure the doctor can find both tubes. This takes about 30 seconds.
During this time the doctor will paint your skin pink with a sterilizing solution called chlorhexidine.
Anaesthetic
Fortunately, the anaesthetic works very quick and within 30 seconds the slight sting will turn into numbness. We also mitigate this discomfort by using pre-medication as well as using the smallest needle possible. Its the kind of needle used by kids to give themselves insulin. The needle is only going into the skin surface and just beneath the skin around the tube. We like to emphasise that the needle is NOT going into your penis or testicles!
Procedure simplified
Once the anaesthetic is working both tubes are sealed through a tiny hole. The anaesthetic takes about 30-60 min to wear off.
We’ve hidden a more in-depth description in the section below for those who want to know more.
Procedure with more details
Once the doctor is sure the numbness is completely working he will use the cautery device to make a 1mm puncture in the scrotal skin. Through this puncture the doctor can extrude the right tube and later the left tube. A section of each extruded tube is cauterised and then returned.
The doctor will often top up anaesthetic throughout the procedure. This is to prolong the numbness and to help target different areas around the tubes.
Vasectomy after care
Take the day off
The procedure itself will take between 10 and 15 mins. Once its done you’re free to go. You don’t have to wait around.
RICE
It is normal to experience swelling with any operation or procedure. This can be alleviated by the RICE principle. Rest Ice Compression and Elevation.
Getting home, popping your feet up, getting Netflix on is the perfect way to get “R” and “E” underway.
Regarding the “I” you should get an ice pack on as soon as possible. Just like when you sprain an ankle the most important time for icing is the first couple hours.
Lastly the “C” can be achieved by wearing supportive briefs.
Pain relief
You would have chosen to either have paracetamol or ibuprofen prescribed. You should take one or both of these regularly for at least 3 days. Following these initial days you can change to taking them as needed.
Taking it easy
One of the most important aspects of recovering quickly is taking it easy for a week. This one is very important to highlight. You can feel essentially back to normal after a couple of days. This is when you risk over exerting yourself. You risk creating some bruising. This ultimately extends the time you spend recovering and potentially being uncomfortable. After a week you can return to normal life however certain activities might take a little longer e.g. mountain biking, rock climbing or power lifting.
Testing
We always need to make sure a vasectomy has worked before we can trust in its effectiveness. We advise that you use an alternative form of contraception until you have tested and we have let you know you’re in the clear.
If you do some reading online you’ll likely get different bits of advice regarding timing the test. At the No Scalpel Vasectomy Clinic we recommend testing after 3 months. No number of ejaculates will speed this up. Just like repeatedly washing your paint brushes there is always a smaller and smaller number of semen left behind. However, after 90 days any semen remaining in the tubing will die off.
More detailed information specifically regarding testing will be provided at the time.
