Vasectomy - how reliable?

[MABS]

Does anyone have any experience or info about failed vasectomies. My dh has been passed 'clear' so to speak, but I need more reassurance. Someone told me there's a risk in the first year - any thoughts ?

Not entirely sure where I heard it but there's a rumour that a fair proportion of failed vasectomies might be disproved if DNA sampling was taken to prove parentage.

As I said - not sure wherhe I heard/read it but that statment alone will probably bring exceptions that prove the rule out

my v. good friend got pregnant (w/ her 4th baby in 4 years) due to her husband's failed vasec. It is apparently extremely common - BUT ONLY because many men do not go back to get tested (to make sure they are shooting blanks). Obviously you should consult with a physician, but I believe that as long as your dh tested, it is rare that the vasec has failed.

I've has a look at the family planning site, and the results are.......
without any contraception out of a 100 women having sex regularly over a year 80-90 will get pregnant.
After two clear 'shots' male sterilization has one failure in 2000
Female sterilization 1 in 200
Combined pill 1 in 100
injection 1 in 100
Old style IUD 2 in 100
New style IUD less than 1 in 100

So if tested properly the male sterization is very, very safe, and other than abstenence or a hyterectomy is about as good as it gets.
If you were satisfied by the safety of the pill (re pregnancy) male sterization is much safer.

That said, there have been DNA tested confirmed cases where it has failed but these are very, very rare.
HTH

great stats, hmb!

Interesting stats - didn't realise vasectomy safer than female sterilization.

Does anyone know how to find out about waiting lists for vasectomies, or whether it is available on BUPA?

Now just need to persuade dh......

Hi, I'm feeling v. broody. DD is now 2 and DH has had a vasectomy but never had his sperm checked afterwards. What are the odds of 'us' falling pregnant or should we se our GP for more definite probabilities? Also, have been feeling this way for many months now but concerned this broodiness may pass!!!

Vasectomies can be reversed but it is not always successful. I can't remember what the success rate is (but I don't think it's very good) - someone else may know more.

The quicker the vasectomy reversal is done the better the results, but the results are still not that good.

Hi MABS
My bf had a vasectomy in a previous relationship -2 months later we got together!! we (or should I say "I"!!) have done a LOT of research on reversals.

It is true that the sooner you get it reversed (within 2-3 years ideally) the better the sucess rate. The main issue however is that it is no longer possible to have a reversal done on the NHS - certainly not in London anyway - so private care is our only option. The operation is £2150!!!! You could contact the Vasectomy Reversal Service - i don't have thier number with me, but can get it if you want.

Success rate of the reversal also depends on a lot of other factors (was there infection after the vasectomy, was the original surgeon compitent or a butcher (like my bf's surgeon) - depending on findings when they start the operation there are 2 procedures that can be performed. The first and most successful is performed if there are no post-vasectomy complications - success rate higher (about 80% reversal success, about 60% pregnancy success rate). Second procedure is longer (4 hours or so) and has lower success rate. They also recommend that you harvest sperm for freezing because further infections can cause a successful reversal to go wrong. Also statistics state that it is usual to wait 12 months before getting pregnant, and that optimum success is achieved afyer 2 years!!

I would recommend that your husband have a fertility test to make sure the vasectomy was succesful - if you are feeling broody and if it is proven that the vasectomy was not succesful it will save a lot of pain both financial and physical(for him!).

Told you I'd done a lot of research!

Really annoys me that the NHS are so free with vasectomies without any counselling - such a HUGE decision for something so difficult to reverse. They certainly counsel before doing the reversal!

Let me know any more as I am the only person I know in this position at this time.
Hope this helps!

sorry - that should have been a message for Ghengis!!!

i have been sterilized nearly 8 years but now i want it reversed do the nhs do the operation or do i have to go private.

nhs do it but there is a list. I think my mum had to wait a year to have it done, and that was 10 years ago

Titchy,
My DH had the snip last october. Up here, the doc won't normally refer you until your baby is 1. They also refused to do it until both of us had counselling. I also had to agree to him having it done. He was on the waiting list for over a year when they gave him a date for the counselling but the op was quite soon after that. The ratbag also made me take his shots in the pots up to the hospital for testing. We were going to go private but managed to get a cancellation. BUPA and other private healthcare providers will do it. I think you can get prices from their website. Google vasectomy prices and you should get an idea.
As was said before, no form of contraception is 100% fail proof.

My dp had his reversal after 6 years and it was a partial success. It does take the body a good while to get going again and the count may be lower. On the other hand, our friend had a vasectomy, did the classic of not waiting long enough and they got pg again ... WITH TWINS!!! The reversal success also depends on how the vasectomey was performed, my dp had his tubes snipped right in the spiral part of the vas deferens which made it harder to reconnect. ALSO (and this is too much info, I know!) he was told that we wouldn't be able to make love for 4-6 weeks but he came out of hospital on the Wednesday and we had non penetrative sex on the Sunday. The colour of the fluid was browny/red and to be honest I think what we did aided the healing process and the success as his tubes were in use quite early on and didn't get a chance to heal shut .... ! OK, you can all stop cringing now!!

My dh had a vasectomy several years before meeting me. He had it reversed on the nhs in London about 4.5 years ago (I did bully them into pushing up the appointment by a year, by calling on a weekly basis for cancellations). They did 2 sperm tests after the reversal and insisted that the reversal had not been successful and told us to go privately to have it done again. We decided to get married, go on honeymoon and then begin the painful process of IVF and another reversal. Luckily, as usual, the nhs were wrong, and the reversal had been totally successful and I got pregnant on honeymoon. I got pregnant with my second almost immediately after my periods came back (after cutting back on bfing).

My dh is having the snip today - hooray!! Has anyone's dh/dp had this done recently? How much pain will he been in when he comes home?