SAFE AND SIMPLE PROCEDURE

Vasectomy is a safe and simple procedure according to many in the medical profession. While the simple part might be accurate, the safe part is definitely not. The cruelest cut of all frequently produces lifelong pain, often worsened by sexual activity, arising months or years after the procedure. Too ashamed to speak up many men suffer in silence unless the pain is severe. For those seeking treatment the options are confusing, expensive, not readily available, and in a worse case scenario involve removing a testicle. With vasectomy labeled as a safe and simple procedure by the medical community, men and their spouses are being grossly misled.

Post-Vasectomy Pain Syndrome (PVPS) truly represents the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and the concern of physicians and researchers as to why this supposedly rare complication occurs is incredibly misdirected, because the theoretical and fundamental foundation supporting vasectomy is hopelessly flawed. Take a pump and a balloon. As the balloon fills you reduce the pumping pressure and then stop. Now pump up another balloon and do not stop. A young child can predict what will happenpressure will build and the balloon will pop.

In a similar fashion the testicles do not stop or greatly reduce sperm production after a vasectomy. Instead sperm production continues unabated as Sir Ashley Cooper noted way back in 1823 when he performed vasectomies upon dogs. Pressure builds leading to blow-outs or slow leakage of sperm, both capable of triggering inflammatory reactions and severe pain. What is truly amazing is that most vasectomized men do not experience chronic pain, a real testimony to the compensatory and healing powers of the body and not to the success of the procedure. For those of you who are thinking that the problem shows up soon after a vasectomy and would have shown up by now if you have already been vasectomized, think againchronic pain can arise at any time, commonly 5 to 7 years and even ten or more years after the procedure.

Physicians and other contraception counselors usually downplay the pain aspect of vasectomy. Often there is no warning about ongoing pain, or the risk is stated to be very low and treatable surgically. That such advice is given is amazing considering that research studies have quoted figures as high as 18.7%, 27.2%, 33% and even up to 54% for Post-Vasectomy Pain Syndrome! Furthermore, when it comes to resolving a problem that should never have arisen in the first place, almost never is it mentioned that multiple operations might be required for even a modest reduction in symptoms.

Surgical reversal of a vasectomy is commonly hailed as the corrective treatment of choice. Rarely is it indicated that this procedure quite often fails to resolve the pain and might only work for a limited period of time, the latter a fact that even very few physicians are aware of. Nor is it mentioned that vasectomy reversals are generally not covered by insurance plans and are extremely costly due to the microsurgical skill required, equipment, and length of the procedure. Even more astonishing is the spread of vasectomy to third world countries promoted as a safe and simple form of birth control. In these settings the surgical skill and equipment for reversal operations are essentially non-existent, and very few could afford the procedure even assuming that surgeons and equipment were available. To promote this procedure to men in general is seriously misguided, but to advocate it for men who cannot access any potentially effective treatment for PVPS is nothing short of horrendous.

The contraceptive success and benefit of vasectomy is often cited as such a plus that it makes the risk worthwhile. True if there were only short-term surgical complications such as wound infections. Not so if a procedure is fundamentally flawed theoretically and practically, and in such a way that chronic discomfort and pain frequently occur. The thinking of physicians and contraception counselors must break away from the current fixation on vasectomy as a safe and simple procedure to vasectomy as a dangerous and even cruel procedure. If you are considering having a vasectomy or have already been vasectomized, know someone in either situation, provide contraceptive counseling, or perform vasectomies and/or corrective surgery, read on to fully understand and appreciate why vasectomy might well be the cruelest cut of all.