Re: vasectomy - annoyed with dh's doctor

[LJsmum]

Dh had a vasectomy at the end of 2001, it was done by a urologist who peforms countless vasectomies at the local private hospital. This particular doctor likes his patients to have general anaesthetics for the procedure, and he usually does about 20 men in one day. Dh requested that his procedure be done under a local anaesthetic instead, because he didn't want to have a GA - from what dh can gather the doctor was a bit annoyed about this and instead of doing dh's vasectomy first thing in the morning (dh was first on the list), he made him wait all day until about 5.00 in the afternoon and did him last.

Perhaps this story has no bearing whatsoever on the result, but the fact is that dh has been back for three sperm tests now, and he has never been given a zero sperm count. For some reason, sperm are still getting through, and it has been like this ever since dh had the procedure done.

After another sperm test a few weeks ago, this doctor is now saying that the tubes must have simply "re-connected" and that this happens in about 1 in 2000 cases. I did my own research on the internet and found some information that said "reconnection only happens to about 1 in 10,000 men", so from what I can see, it should be an extemely unlikely thing to happen. The fact that dh has never been given an all-clear (even three months after the procedure) makes me think that it probably wasn't done properly.

Now this doctor is saying that dh has to have the vasectomy done again. I am not impressed about it and neither is dh - lucky for me that I stayed on the pill otherwise things might have been different. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with this kind of thing? I can't believe that it can be so easy for a vasectomy to fail so soon after having it done.

Poor you, sounds awful. My dh had a vasectomy last November, but all went fine.

I don't know a lot about it but we did talk a lot about this - dh is a GP and so he knew what he was letting himself in for. Your figure of 1 : 10 000 is far more realistic than the Urologist's figure - if that is his own personal failure rate then he is crap!

But tubes do reconnect (it's technically called 'recanalisation' and if this is going to happen it happens pretty soon after the operation. SOmetimes it can happen withing just a couple of months. You will probably never be able to prove that the doctor did it wrong, though I can think of one way. Most decent surgeons would send off the bit they take out for analysis (histology). The surgeon who did dh did this, as he likes to check 1) that there is nothing wrong with the vas, its a bit like doing a smear on a woman and 2) that is was actually the vas that he cut - its pretty small and looks like a lot of the other tissue in this area. You could ask if there was a histology report following the operation and ask to see it.

Re : the anaesthetic. Many surgeons will do 'daycase' things under local later in the day, as it is more preferable to get the bigger, more difficult things ove rwith first. Also, the anaesthetists often like to put people to sleep first thing and do locals later - in case there are any complications following general anaesthesia it gives them more time to sort it out during office hours! It shouldn't have had any bearing on the operation. Some surgeons are, strangely, a bitty squeamish about doing an intimate procedure like a vasectomy on someone who is awake (my dh was a wimp and WANTED a GA!), so your dh's surgeon might have been grumpy because of this. But a vasectomy is a straightforward procedure adn he must have done them under locals before. He might just have been grumpy.

Also, if he had the operation at the end of 2001, why has it taken so long to get to this stage?? My dh was given the all clear in March, and if he hadn't been clear in 6 months they would have been investigating!

All the best with whatever happens, and let us know!

Susanmt thanks so much for the info, appreciate your help. It's probably taken so long to get to this stage because dh has worked two different jobs over the last couple of years (he's given up the second one now though), so he's been incredibly busy. Because I was still on the pill, we used to let months go by without thinking of doing another sperm test.

But in that time, we have never received any kind of contact or reminder from the doctor. After this recent sperm test a couple of weeks ago, we got a letter in the post saying "There are still sperm present... therefore you shouldn't rely on this as a contraceptive method... it would be advisable to have the procedure done again." And that was it. If dh hadn't gone back for another sperm test, we would probably have never heard from him again.

DH wants to have a local anaesthetic if he has it done again, so the doctor probably won't be very happy again (there was a little note in the doctor's letter that this procedure is best done under a GA). Maybe it's better if dh goes to a completely different doctor altogether. Susan do you know if it's advisable to go back for sperm tests periodically, even after you've been given the all-clear? I'm paranoid now that this whole thing might happen again in a couple of years.

For goodness sake go to a different doctor! Current one sounds like a jerk. Here's a good rule: never let a man who's annoyed with you get near your balls with a sharp knife.

(flubus is my husband, btw -- I left this thread up and .... )

I think you might be right flubus

My uncles tubes reconnected and thier 4th child was the result (he didn't have proper follow up but this was 20 years ago).

Agree change docs - some GP's do it.....

LJsmum, your story sounds just like ours. Husband had vasectomy under local anaesthetic and three tests later the results wree still showing numerous spermatosa. It was really dificult to get through to doctors on phone etc but eventually dh went to consulatnat uroligist who said they hadn't reconnected the operation had just never worked in the first place. result is dh is having the operation done again in August but this time he's keen to have ga, because he's not prpepared to have it done third time and also because he said it was extremely painful. I think you're best to start again. Not sure how it works but soemeon said that family planning clinics are good place to go because doctors there do hundreds a year etc. It turns out the hospital our GP sent dh to do about three ayear and consultant had no idea why he'd been sent there in first place. Also, when I was handing husband's sperm sample in for fifth time, (lovely thing to have in your pocket on school run)I explained how husband had had vasectomy a year ago and how gp had said that sperm decrease in time after operation and the guys at the lab looked at each other and said interesting theory Now think GP is a tosser who knows very little (no pun intended)

You don't have periodic sperm tests normally as if there is going to be reconnection it happend pretty quickly, beofre much bad scar tissue has been able to form. After a few months/a year it is pretty much impossible for this to happen. It happens to women too - one of my best friends got pregnant 3 months after she was sterilised (says the woman who's mirena coil fell out lol)

I asked dh abou tthis one last night. He says a surgeon who normlly does the procedure under a GA would possibly be quite nervous doing it under a local and was perhaps afraid to cut deep enough to toally sever the vas, or wouldn't take a section of it out, as you are supposed to. If your dh wants it done under a local again, he shoudl try to find a surgeon who normally does it under a local, as he will be more used to dealing with it.

HTH and all the best.