Tag Archives: vasectomy reversal

The McHugh “NO” Vasectomy

What is tenderness on one side or the other after a vasectomy?

This is a common question and maybe more common for me than other urologists. Why?

I make one mid-line opening using the no scalpel instrument. This is done at the peno-scrotal junction (upper aspect of the scrotum in the middle.) Through this opening the right side vas deferens is brought to the surface and the vasectomy is performed. This vas then returns to the right. Same thing is done on the left. (Many urologists make two openings, one on each side.)

What can be confusing to the patient is that days or weeks later he notes the mid-opening that is healed, but he feels a small knot on the left or right. What is going on? Something must be wrong.

The knot is where the body has begun the healing process. This varies from left to right, so that one patient may feel something on the right another the left. Because the opening is in the middle the assumption is that the swelling should be in the middle.

Now you know why it is left or right. The middle is where we access the left and right vas deferens but then it returns to its normal location and the healing process then begins.

If it is a small area and minimal discomfort, then this is the normal healing process and no need to call your doctor.

We offer vasectomy conscious sedation, fair all inclusive pricing for self pay patients and accept most all insurances. Call us when you’re ready to consider a vasectomy. We’ve done thousands.

What are the chances of a vasectomy failure?

vasectomy resized

Before the vasectomy patient can be released by the urologist to have unprotected sex, there must be two consecutive semen specimens with no sperm. It takes about 25 ejaculations to achieve this. We customarily give two specimen containers at the time of the vasectomy and recommend dropping off the specimens at approximately six and eight weeks. Dr. McHugh personally examines all of the specimens with a microscope.

After the initial clearance to proceed with unprotected sex, the chances of the the vasectomy “growing back together” is 1/2000.

In the diagram above you can see why. When Dr. McHugh performs a vasectomy a section of the vas is removed (red), both ends are cauterized (green) and then an absorbable suture (yellow) is placed on both ends as well.

The diagram above also answers another very common question about vasectomies: Does it affect the patient’s sex life?

The answer there is no. As you see, the only thing “tied off” is the vas deferens and this is where the sperm travels. Testosterone, which is responsible for the male’s sex drive, is produced in the testicle, but leaves the testicle in the blood stream not the vas deferens.

So there is a vas deferens between where the sperm exits and how the testosterone exits the testicle!

Microscopic vasectomy reversal-Top three FAQs.

Is a reversal like having had a vasectomy? No, a vasectomy takes about 15 minutes and a reversal usually around two hours.

If I was very fertile before my vasectomy, will I have better results with a reversal? No, however it won’t hurt. Often times the success rates are related to the interval between the vasectomy and the reversal. I.e.- a vasectomy done two years ago has better odds than one done five years ago. (As a rule-sometimes other factors can play a role such as the experience of the surgeon and having a sperm granuloma.)

Is it covered by insurance? No, most reversal urologists will off a price package that will cover everything from the facility, staff, supplies, anesthesia and surgeon fees. At Northeast Georgia Urological Associates, we own the surgery center and this dramatically allows our pricing to be more competitive than most. (The facility fee such as having to pay a hospital for surgery time, is usually the biggest portion of the cost.)

Further questions, email us with the form below. A phone consultation is free for vasectomy reversals. Dr. McHugh does them most every day between five and six.

Will the Vasectomy Reversal procedure be like my Vasectomy?

A vasectomy takes about 15 minutes and I do them through a single “size of a grain of rice” opening.

A reversal, in my hands, takes about two hours and more commonly uses two incisions (3/4 inch on each side of the upper scrotum over the course of the vas deferens) and requires an operating microscope and microscopic suture.

I tell patients that it is a minor procedure, minimal blood loss or other complications, but it does take two hours to do. Bruising and some scrotal swelling is more common and there is a longer recovery period.

So…to the question…same structure (the vas deferens) different procedure.

Feeling lucky? Better to be sure…Call for a vasectomy today.

a st patrick

According to the Confessio, in Britain Patrick had another dream, in which an individual named Victoricus gave him a letter, entitled “The Voice of the Irish.” As he read it, Patrick seemed to hear the voices of Irishmen pleading him to return to their country and walk among them once more. After studying for the priesthood, Patrick was ordained a bishop. He arrived in Ireland in 433 and began preaching the Gospel, converting many thousands of Irish and building churches around the country.

After 40 years of living in poverty, teaching, traveling and working tirelessly, Patrick died on March 17, 461 in Saul, where he had built his first church.

Since that time, countless legends have grown up around Patrick. Made the patron saint of Ireland, he is said to have baptized hundreds of people on a single day, and to have used a three-leaf clover–the famous shamrock–to describe the Holy Trinity. In art, he is often portrayed trampling on snakes, in accordance with the belief that he drove those reptiles out of Ireland. For centuries, the Irish have observed the day of Saint Patrick’s death as a religious holiday, attending church in the morning and celebrating with food and drink in the afternoon.

Call or email to schedule vasectomy with in office pre-medication or ASC conscious sedation. Either way we cater to cowards. Check out Dr. McHugh’s free eBook on a vasectomy.

Vasectomy? On this day in history Caesar was surprised. Don’t you be!

Rome-History-Julius-Caesar

As sole Roman ruler, Caesar launched ambitious programs of reform within the empire.

The most lasting of these was his establishment of the Julian calendar, which, with the exception of a slight modification and adjustment in the 16th century, remains in use today.

He also planned new imperial expansions in central Europe and to the east. In the midst of these vast designs, he was assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C., by a group of conspirators who believed that his death would lead to the restoration of the Roman Republic. However, the result of the “Ides of March” was to plunge Rome into a fresh round of civil wars, out of which Octavian, Caesar’s grand-nephew, would emerge as Augustus, the first Roman emperor, destroying the republic forever.

Click for free eBook on vasectomies by Dr. McHugh

Signed, Snipped and Delivered…I’m yours!

Is Stevie saying, “SNIPPED?”

Biggest determinate of a vasectomy reversal success?

The interval of time from the vasectomy.

Studies have shown success is related to the timing of the vasectomy which in turn is related to the ability of the testicles to begin producing sperm again in adequate numbers to achieve pregnancy.

Click on “Success Rates” in Menu to see how the interval of the vasectomy affects success.

What is the ideal number children to have?

From  The Atlantic

A handful of studies have tried to pinpoint a number of children that maximizes parents’ happiness. One study from the mid-2000s indicated that a second child or a third didn’t make parents happier. “If you want to maximize your subjective well-being, you should stop at one child,” the study’s author told Psychology Today. A more recent study, from Europe, found that two was the magic number; having more children didn’t bring parents more joy.

In the United States, nearly half of adults consider two to be the ideal number of children, according to Gallup polls, with three as the next most popular option, preferred by 26 percent. Two is the favorite across Europe, too.

Ashley Larsen Gibby, a Ph.D. student in sociology and demography at Penn State, notes that these numbers come with some disclaimers. “While a lot of [the] evidence points to two children being optimal, I would be hesitant to make that claim or generalize it past Western populations,” she wrote to me in an email. “Having the ‘normative’ number of children is likely met with more support both socially and institutionally. Therefore, perhaps two is optimal in places where two is considered the norm. However, if the norm changed, I think the answer to your question would change as well.”