Vasectomy is a surgical act which consists in binding or cutting the 2 vas deferens which leave each testicle and which allow the sperm to reach the ejaculatory duct which opens into the urethra. It is necessary to make a small incision at the base of the scrotum under local anesthesia, but it can also be done under general anesthesia, at the patient’s choice. The intervention only takes about twenty minutes. Vasectomy therefore prevents sperm from mixing with seminal fluid, but this does not affect ejaculation, since sperm usually only make up 3% of the overall semen volume. Complete sterility is only achieved after several weeks and a minimum of ten ejaculations. This is checked by means of a semen analysis confirming the absence of sperm.
An extremely rare practice in France
As for the methods of definitive female contraception, vasectomy for contraceptive purposes has only been authorized in France since July 2001. “Currently, this remains very marginal in France, it is always wrongly associated with a loss of virility. However, vasectomy has no effect on sexuality. Erection and ejaculation remain the same as before the procedure. The mentality in France, as in other Latin countries, is that within the couple it is the woman who takes care of contraception, especially if it is permanent contraception. We never see husbands in consultations asking for information on sterilization, ”explains Prof. Philippe Descamps, head of the mother-child center at the CHU d’Anger. And the figures confirm it, only 1,500 men use it each year in France. In some countries, especially Anglo-Saxons, more men than women use permanent contraception. In Great Britain, for example, 33% of adults choose sterilization: 12% women and 21% men.
What if the man regrets and ultimately desires a child?
It is possible to attempt surgery to go back. Unfortunately, the result is not guaranteed and the sperm may no longer be fertile. It is therefore preferable to consider vasectomy as an irreversible sterilization technique. On the other hand, men have the advantage, to guard against a possible change of mind, of being able to freeze their sperm and use it as long as they wish. Especially since there is no conservation limitation in CECOS (Centers for the Study and Conservation of Human Eggs and Sperm).
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