A vasectomy is a surgery that prevents sperm from entering the semen, which makes it a highly effective form of male birth control. Over 500,000 men in the United States have the procedure performed every year. But what happens if you decide you want to reverse it and try to start a family? You can now regain fertility with microsurgical vasovasostomy.
Whatever your reasons are for wanting to reverse your vasectomy, you want the best odds of getting your healthy sperm back. The success rate for this procedure varies greatly, and it depends on many factors, but having a top doctor perform the surgery is absolutely essential. This is why you want the expert team of doctors at Urological Associates in Charlottesville, Virginia on your side. Our surgeons’ expertise is the best first step toward a successful outcome.
If you’ve decided you want to start a family for the first time, add to your family, or begin again with a new spouse, you need to be fertile. This means your vasectomy needs to be reversed. With a vasovasostomy our doctors will sew the ends of the vas deferens – the tube that carries sperm from the testes to the penis and ejaculatory ducts – back together. This is what was cut or blocked in your original vasectomy, and this reversal will allow healthy sperm to be reintroduced into your semen.
The surgery has seen many advancements and is now performed with microsurgical equipment to help with precision and success. We use a high-powered microscope for the procedure, which allows us to magnify the tubes from 5 to 40 times their actual size and to use extremely thin stitches (thinner than an eyelash) to join the ends.
While the microsurgical procedure effectively reverses the original surgery in about 85% of men, the ultimate pregnancy rate is only about 55%. This is because there are so many other factors that affect pregnancy, including how fertile you were before your vasectomy, how long ago you had it done, and how fertile your partner is.
The surgery lasts about two to four hours, and you’ll be put under anesthesia; while you do go home the same day, full recovery takes around two weeks. You’ll come back in to see us at the six-week mark, and we’ll check your semen. While you may have sperm already, it can take up to a year for it to happen, depending on the individual.
Our doctors at Urological Associates will do a full examination and make sure you’re in good health. While the length of time it’s been since your vasectomy is a factor for success, our experienced team can give you the best chance at fertility, thanks to the microsurgical vasovasostomy. Call us and set up your consultation now.
