Why more and more men are considering the snip

WANT to make sure you don’t hear the patter of tiny feet again? You’re not the only one. Around a quarter of men are interested in getting a vasectomy, according to a new survey, but 62% of them say there’s not enough information out there.

The recent survey from Irish Life Health found the top three reasons why men choose to have a vasectomy are that they do not want to have any more children (33%), they like the idea of not worrying about contraception (22%) and they feel it is time to relieve their partners of the contraceptive burden (13%).

This is compared to 32% of women who believe it is their partner’s turn to look after contraception.

Dr Phillip Kieran says he is often approached by men who are considering having a vasectomy but are worried about what might be involved.

‘As a GP this is something people ask me about relatively frequently.’ he says. ‘And there is definitely a disconnect between what is involved and what people think might be involved.

‘Anything that helps raise awareness of the procedure itself and the fact that it is an option to consider, I am all in favour of.’

After a successful vasectomy, there is only a one in 3,000 chance of a pregnancy, making it the most effective form of contraception available.

SO WHAT actually happens to men when they go for the snip? ‘There is a small tube which comes from the testicle up to the prostate which is called the vas deferens,’ Dr Kieran explains. ‘And what happens in a vasectomy is that they just separate that tube.

‘One of the questions I get asked most often by patients is if during sex when they ejaculate will it be the same or will nothing come out, which is a fear that a lot of men have.

‘The reality of it is that sperm makes up less than 1% of what comes out when you ejaculate, so no one is going to notice the difference before and after the procedure.

‘One of the modern techniques is the “no scalpel vasectomy” where they give a little bit of local anaesthetic or an anaesthetic spray on the skin of the scrotum, they put a small needle in through the skin, the tube is divided on both sides and then it is sealed. A number of weeks later you give a semen sample and if two of them are clear of sperm then that’s it — there are no more sperm coming out when you ejaculate and you are covered for contraception.’

However, the big question on most men’s minds will be ‘does it hurt?’

‘Any procedure where you put a needle through the skin is going to hurt a bit,’ Dr Kieran explains. ‘For most men it is mild discomfort and it usually settles down within 24 to 48 hours.

‘Around 1% of men who have this done can have pain that goes on longer than that. But for most men it is a short recovery period.’

Another question Dr Kieran is asked is how long the patient needs to refrain from having sex. ‘Usually once the pain settles down you can start having sex straight away,’ he says. But we wouldn’t guarantee that from a contraceptive perspective because there may be some sperm left in the tube above the bit that gets disconnected. ‘Usually you have to wait around 24 weeks, give in two semen samples to the doctor who did the procedure, and once they say they show no sign of sperm then you can rely on it as a contraceptive.

‘The reason for this is that when you cut the tube you need to make sure everything above that cut is cleared out.

‘For some men this will happen quite quickly and for some it will take longer. That is where the 24-week wait comes in as that is the absolute maximum time in which we would expect it to be resolved.’

Some health plans actually include the cost of a vasectomy procedure and Dr Kieran says the benefits far outweigh the discomfort.

‘This is a long-term contraceptive method which is relatively straightforward,’ he adds.

But before you book yourself in, you also need to make sure this is exactly what you want as once the operation is performed, there’s no going back.

‘In theory it can be reversed,’ Dr Kieran says. ‘But the success rates are very low so it should be considered permanent if you are thinking about it.

‘It’s recommended that men consider all contraceptive methods available and that they are sure this is the most suitable long-term family planning method for them.’