Author : Dr Jennifer Frank Family University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Appleton, Wisconsin
2010-04-28
2010-04-28
Complications of a Vasectomy : Vasectomy is usually safe and effective but has potential complications.
Just
like any other surgical procedure, you may experience complications.
You can expect to experience minor discomfort for a few days after you
have the vasectomy. Other potential complications include bleeding,
infection or inflammation, pain, and failure. If you follow the advice
you are given for post-operative recovery, you will lower your risk of
having a complication.
Hematoma formation
A hematoma is a collection of blood that forms in your scrotum. This is the most common complication and causes pain. Your risk of having a hematoma develop is low overall. You
can further reduce your risk by choosing to have a vasectomy done by an
experienced physician (who does at least 2 to 4 vasectomies per month). Also, your risk of hematoma formation is lower if you have a no-scalpel vasectomy.
Sperm granuloma
A sperm granuloma is inflammation at the end of the vas deferens (the tube that is cut during a vasectomy). The sperm that leak out of the end of the tube cause cells in your body to form a type of scar called a granuloma. This
may feel like hard beads in your scrotum but usually causes no other
problems but you may experience pain at the site of the granuloma.
Infection
Like the risk for a hematoma, risk of infection is lower if your surgeon performs a no-scalpel vasectomy. Infection after a vasectomy is uncommon and is usually localized to the structures in the scrotum. If you experience infection, symptoms would include, pain, redness, fever, or foul-smelling drainage from your incision site. A short course of antibiotics will usually take care of the infection.
Pain
You can expect to experience pain or discomfort for days to weeks following the vasectomy. A very small number of men experience long term pain. It
is not well understood why this occurs, but there are a number of
theories including that your scrotal structures may get congested which
leads to pain. If you experience pain after your
vasectomy, your doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory medications,
rest, antibiotics, or pain medications. Rarely, surgery may be needed if the pain is severe and doesn’t respond to more conservative treatment.
Failure
Having a vasectomy is a very effective way to achieve sterility. However, just like any contraceptive method, it can fail. You
may have failure initially (the vasectomy doesn’t result in sterility)
or may develop failure later (the vasectomy is initially successful but
later fails). The combination of cautery (burning the ends
of the vas deferens) and fascial interposition (separating the ends of
the vas deferens with a piece of your tissue (called fascia) offers the
lowest risk of failure.
Resources:
References:
- "Urologic Clinics of North America"; Risks and Complications of Vasectomy;Christopher Adams and Moshe Wald;August 2009.
- "American Family Physician";Vasectomy: An Update; Paul Dassow and John Bennett;December 2006.
- "Journal of Andrology"; Testicular Pain Following Vasectomy: A Review of Postvasectomy Pain Syndrome; Cory Christiansen and Jay Sandlow, 2003.