This is the isolated vas deferens at the time of a reversal. You can see the clips and a mass effect of the body’s attempt at healing the vasectomy “trauma.” This is called a sperm granuloma. Note the vas tubes going into the mass of healing and clips. Both sides are normal in appearance and normal caliber.

What a granuloma does is act as a “pop off” valve and releases some degree of pressure on the testicles. This in turn makes for less damage to the testicles and allows them to rebound sooner from a reversal. In many cases it will also improve the character of the fluid at the time of the reversal (which is also a favorable finding for the percentages of success).

So, if you are considering a reversal and in the shower examine yourself and feel a knot along the course of the vas tube above the testicle, this is a favorable sign and that you may have a better than average success rate for both patency  and pregnancy.

Just a small and interesting caveat for the couple thinking about reversing a vasectomy.