A vasectomy is surgery to cut the vas deferens. These are the tubes that carry a sperm from testicles to the urethra. After a vasectomy, sperm cannot move out of the testes. A man who has had a successful vasectomy cannot make a woman pregnant.
Alternative Names
Sterilization surgery - male; No-scalpel vasectomy; NSV; Family planning - vasectomy; Contraception - vasectomy
Description
Vasectomy is most often done in the surgeon's office using local anesthesia. You will be awake but not feel any pain.
- After your scrotum is shaved and cleaned, the surgeon will inject a shot of numbing medicine into the area.
- The surgeon will make a small cut in the upper part of your scrotum. The vas deferens will then be tied off and cut apart.
- The wound will be closed with stitches or surgical glue.
You may have a vasectomy without a surgical cut. This is called a no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV). For this procedure:
- The surgeon will find the vas deferens by feeling your scrotum.
- You will get numbing medicine.
- The surgeon will then make a tiny hole in the skin of your scrotum and then tie off and cut a part of the vas deferens.
In a regular vasectomy, a small incision is made on each side of the scrotum. In a no-scalpel vasectomy, a sharp instrument is used to pierce the skin and make a single opening. A stitch or surgical glue is used to seal the openings in both forms of the procedure.