What can be expected after a vasectomy reversal?

Recovery from a vasectomy reversal should be relatively swift and fairly comfortable. Any pain that might be experienced after surgery can be controlled with oral medications. About 50 percent of men experience discomfort that is similar to the level they had after the original vasectomy. Another quarter report less pain than accompanied the vasectomy. A final 25 percent say the pain is somewhat greater than after the vasectomy. The reassuring news is that any pain severe enough to require medication rarely lasts longer than a few days to a week.

Most patients are back to normal routine and light work within a week. Urologists usually want their patients to refrain from heavy physical activity for two to three weeks. If your job requires strenuous work, you should discuss with your surgeon the earliest time you can return to work. You will be advised to wear a jockstrap for support for several weeks. You will likely be restricted from having sex for approximately two to three weeks.

It takes on average one year to achieve a pregnancy after a vasectomy reversal. Some pregnancies occur in the first few months after the reversal procedure, while others do not occur until several years later.

One of the main factors influencing pregnancy rates is the obstructive interval, which is the duration of time between your original vasectomy and the reversal. As the table below shows, rates of both the return of sperm to semen and subsequent pregnancy are highest when the reversal is performed relatively shortly after the vasectomy.

The urologist will request a semen analysis every two to three months after surgery until your sperm count either stabilizes or pregnancy occurs. Unless a pregnancy occurs, a sperm count is the only way to determine surgical success. While sperm generally appear in the semen within a few months after a vasovasostomy, it may take from three to 15 months to appear after a vasoepididymostomy.

In either case, if the reversal works, the patient should remain fertile for many years. The possibility of subsequent pregnancies is an important advantage of this procedure over sperm retrieval techniques for in vitro fertilization (see frequently asked questions). Only approximately 5 percent of patients who have sperm appear in the semen after a vasectomy reversal later develop scarring in the reconnected area, which could block the passage of sperm again.

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