This a drawing done for me by a urological professor in Italy. I had asked him to draw his interpretation of pregnancy after a reversal.
It all starts with the decision to begin the journey that is a vasectomy reversal.
The procedure is not covered by insurance.
Success can’t be guaranteed.
Once the procedure is performed, it takes the testicles about three months to begin producing sperm again.
If pregnancy occurs, it is usually six to eighteen months after the procedure.
A lot of things have to come in to place and in many ways a pregnancy is “miracle.”
Many times I have said to the vasectomy reversal couple that you have to begin with the procedure to start the clock. Then live your life… as this is a “patient journey.”
So…I hike a trail most every evening after work and on the weekends that takes about an hour. My vasectomy reversal coordinator Kathy get several calls a day about scheduling either a reversal or a free consultation about arranging for a reversal. Many of our patient live a long way away and ask, “Can I speak to the doctor by phone?”
Kathy routinely says, “Can he call you between 5 and 6 tonight?”
The interested couple most commonly says, “Yes. Perfect.”
So last night Kathy gives me two people to call who have an interest in reversing their vasectomy. The second patient I call asked the question, “My wife and I got pregnant very quickly. I mean one the first try. Does this mean that we’ll get pregnant just as quickly after the reversal?”
Good question and very similar to this common question, “Will the reversal surgery be like the vasectomy?”
Regarding the latter, the reversal takes approximately two and half hours, a vasectomy less than 15 minutes. So no a vasectomy is not like a reversal.
Regarding the former question: the issue is not that you and your partner are very fertile, the success of the reversal depends on the experience of the surgeon and the time interval since the vasectomy.
The perfect scenario? A short time since the vasectomy and a urologist who does reversals microscopically often. It does not hurt that the wife was fertile, that is good. For the male however the production of good sperm suitable for pregnancy decrease as time elapses since the vasectomy.
It was a good question and I hope this helps you understand the nuances of a microscopic vasectomy reversal. You might check out this internal site link.