Dairenn’s experience: Vasectomy with Dr. Arthur Schapiro

Greetings everyone!

A few individuals reading the forums might recall messages posted by me a few months ago, inquiring about urologists that conduct inexpensive, no-scalpel vasectomies in Los Angeles. I was even more interested in the no-needle anesthetic (a hypospray “jet” injection where the xylocaine is administered through the skin). In one of my posts, I referred to something someone I know told me called a process of “ionization” – I was never able to obtain any information supporting that any such procedure actually exists.

However, today, what I would like to share with you all is my personal experience concerning the type of operation I have had done. This is to be considered a non-scientific, subjective account. This post does not go into the motivating reasons behind having this procedure done because the intended audience are individuals who’ve already decided for one reason or another that they are interested in permanent sterilization.

I would however like to say that never being reliant on any partner to be correctly using birth control is a liberating feeling that I am already enjoying.

Let me begin with a logistical preamble. I didn’t expect to choose to remain employed where I work long enough to justify signing up for the health benefits but after a year of being uninsured and realizing insurance was going to be my sole means of making a vasectomy affordable, I signed up. I chose the UCLA medical group because I decided if I am going to be stuck within a single network because it is BlueCross’s HMO plan, I should choose one that can do almost anything I’ll ever need. Coincidentally, I had a legitimate purpose for seeing my primary care physician (due to pneumonia). But in a follow-up appointment, they’d recommended, I took that opportunity to request a referral to a urologist for male sterilization upon realizing that under my program, it will only cost me $50. They scheduled my initial consultation appointment with Dr. Arthur Schapiro a urologist at UCLA Santa Monica.

This isn’t the first time I had an initial consultation; I went to Dr. Peter Werthman’s office in Century City in 2001 (before I knew the insurance I had then could cover it). I was given a pamphlet outlining information I’d already researched on the web concerning potential risks and complications, alternatives to permanent sterilization, and so on. Then, I believe Dr. Werthman himself interviewed me and I felt as though I was inadequately prepared to state my case. On top of it all, the consultation cost me $250 despite having insurance at the time. They also encouraged me to think about putting some of my sperm in a sperm bank just in case I want to, some years later, go the route of in vitro fertilization. This suggestion came with a $500 (or so, can’t remember exactly) price tag. At the time, I was having issues with meeting women and had been single for over four years. I thought the costs and potential pain of a vasectomy and possibly storing my sperm weren’t justified due to the drought in my sexual activity.

Anticipating the same challenging from Dr. Schapiro, I took the time to sit down and type up a three-page (bullet-point) document, explaining my reason for never wanting children. The first page pointed to global issues, the second page pointed to personal issues on a logistical level and the last page pointed to personal issues as far as my own opinions and feelings were concerned. The reason for all this is that I am 22, unmarried without children and I realize it isn’t possible for a doctor that has only just met me to appreciate that I am more precocious than my peers due to how I grew up. Already, however, I was having a positive experience with Dr. Schapiro.

First thing he asked is why would I wanna do something like this? And I gave him a one-liner before pointing to the three page document I brought. He asked me for it and told me he’ll just keep it in my file. That was the end of the discussion. We right away moved onto the next subject–how much I know about the procedure. I told him and he said I knew everything I needed to know and then moved onto seeing whether or not I was a good candidate for the procedure. He then took the opportunity to do two things.

First, he showed me exactly where the vas deferens tube. It was relieving to see how thin and small it really is. Dr. Schapiro’s real talent, however, came in his psychologically masterful approach at putting the patient at ease. And while I was less apprehensive about it than someone who probably didn’t know anything about this might be, I was still nervous about at least one thing. The xylocaine shot to temporarily deaden the nerve-endings to the sites of the incision. However, I thought to myself that I have accidentally done worse to myself down there and that this is permanent. I’ll never have to go through it again. Dr. Schapiro knows how to get a person feeling good about this through humor. I made an appointment with their front-desk staff.

In preparation, I bought a bag of frozen peas and made sure I had a clean pair of tight-fitting briefs ready to wear after the procedure. I also used the MTA/Santa Monica bus to get there instead of my car because I knew I wasn’t supposed to try and drive myself home. If you have to go to the men’s room and it’s a #2, be sure to do that before you check into your appointment because you will only get an opportunity afterward to do a #1. Don’t come too overdressed, you’ll wear a paper gown with the open end facing front.

Here’s what to expect when you get in there. First, they use two people–this is a good thing, I’ll explain why in a minute. One lays down on the bed, on a cold metal object (its purpose was not explained to me), you will be shaved and they will use bactine to reduce the chance of infection during or after procedure caused by bacteria that live on the skin. If you decide to shave ahead of time, keep in mind that an electric shaver leaves the skin in a rash-like state, which makes the procedure impossible to perform. If you are uncomfortable using a regular, straight-edge razor–feel free to use an electric shaver 5 days in advance and just let the little bit of stubble grow back on its own; they’ll take care of that.

They will tape down the penis to hold it in place and place towels around the scrotal sac. The actual urologist then begins the procedure. I was not given a valium. In my case, the nurse that prepped me held me down and kept me well distracted while the doctor administered the xylocaine shot. It’s a 3-second long sting but if you keep talking, and keep thinking about something else, you’ll make it; this is why I said there are two people involved is a good thing. Afterward, just keep looking up, thinking about other things, or maintaining the small talk with the nurse. It takes about 5-7 minutes for the doctor to make the incision and sew up that side. Then they do it again for the other side. When they finished, they put gauss around the stitches before I was directed to put my tight-fitting briefs on and finish getting dressed.

They gave me a bag that contained a specimen sample cup and a two-page document that lays out what to do upon leaving that room, later that day, the next day and what to expect in the next 2-4 weeks. I was informed the stitches were tied loosely so as to let any fluid or blood that needed to drain from the areas of incision to do so, so as to prevent any harmful blockage.

I called a cab as soon as I got downstairs and was driven home. For the remainder of that day, I felt no pain (either stinging from the areas of incision or tender soreness anywhere else in the region). I decided to take a nap since on the day of the procedure, patients are directed to stay off their feet and lay down. The print out I received stated that should I feel any tenderness or soreness that laying down would help, and I could take Tylenol to relieve any further pain. I just used my frozen bag of peas.

You’re really not going to feel like moving around all that much within the first 48-60 hours of the procedure anyway, which is a good thing; they also say you can shower by the next day but I didn’t do that ’cause I could still feel the stitches. They actually feel like two small fingers pinching together the sides of your scrotal sac. The entire area feels like it is being cupped or lightly squeezed by a hand. The hardest part is keeping the gauss on while using the restroom. The paper I received said one is at liberty to temporarily remove it and whatever scrotal support one is wearing but I was trying to avoid it since I did not want to disturb the area at all.

The paper tells one to expect pea, or marble-sized swelling right around the areas of the incision. So far, I only have that on the left side. As advised, I am avoiding strenuous activity/exercise, long periods of standing, and especially heavy-lifting until next Wednesday. You’re probably gonna want to switch over to LOOSE fitting briefs (but still briefs) around about the 72-hour mark because of the tightness one might be feeling at this point.

I’m still taking Excedrin for extremely mild tenderness of the testicles themselves and mild irritation from the sutures. The kind I was given is the type that is supposed to dissolve or fall out. I am still “draining” as expected. So far, none of the warning signs of something not right happening have appeared such as redness or stretching of the sac, excessive swelling, or noticeable pain.

Here’s a piece of information I have not been able to obtain from any pamphlets or the web. Dr. Arthur Schapiro told me that by your 20th ejaculation, samples of semen submitted tend to contain no sperm. This is NOT a time-based issue. They only say 6-12 weeks because they are estimating most men experience no more than 16 ejaculations in that period of time. So, if after 5 days of your operation, you feel up to masturbating, and can do it 2-3 times a day, you can be free and clear as early as 12 days after the operation. Right now, my girlfriend is on the pill so I’m not in a hurry, but until I get back a sample that says I am shooting blanks, we’re going to keep using it.

I even paid Google Answers to search the web for me (after trying for 4 hours every other day for a couple of weeks, and getting tired of doing that) to see if any urological sites offered any clues about how long after would I truly be sterile. I literally had no idea until I asked point-blank, “do I have to wait n weeks no matter what, or is it entirely dependant on the number of ejaculations?” and the answer was that it is solely the number of ejaculations.

At any rate, due to my posting–this information is now permanently on the web and so if it wasn’t there before, it is now. 🙂

My doctor didn’t say he wanted more than one sample. He gave me one cup, told me to label it myself, and bring it in the day I “created” the sample whenever I felt like it and they would be happy to test it and tell me the results. So, I am probably going to wait until I have cleared the one score ejaculation mark and then set aside a day to provide a sufficient sample to his office. (I personally will ask to test again, actually, if I am told they see any non-motile sperm.)

There was (expected) discomfort in the lower abdominal area that went away after taking Excedrin (I mentioned “kept taking Excedrin” but I forgot to mention when I started, heh). The other thing is what kind of vasectomy it was. It was open-ended with a scalpel, the doctor seemed to be in his late 50s but handled me quite expertly.

In any case, everything is going the way the documentation I’ve been provided with has stated. I will provide updates as time goes on. 🙂

I hope this account has been somewhat helpful to anyone trying to imagine what the process must be like. I would be happy to answer any questions about this, here on the newsgroup, of a nature pertaining to the actual procedure, such as preparations, the experiencing the vasectomy and so on.

28th March 2003 Update

Here’s what’s happened in over a week since I had the operation in case anyone was curious:

• Fluid/blood drainage stopped before 36 hours following the operation.
• Lower abdominal soreness vanished after 36 hours following the operation.
• Anticipated swelling only occurred on the left side (which was done first, opposite the urologist) beneath the site of incision somewhere between day 3 and day 4. Appears to be almost gone before day 10.
• Tender soreness of the testicles vanished after 96 hours immediately following the operation.
• Five ejaculations have thus far produced no blood.
• Self-dissolving sutures disintegrated 5 days after the operation.
• Day 6–felt completely normal (eg., walking around without noticing any sensitivity in the overall area).

So far so good, will get back to everyone in about a month (or sooner, if something unusual happens).

April 19 update

As previously posted, I was going to give an update a month after my vasectomy and in a few hours, it will have been one month. With that in mind, I would like to share the following details with everyone here regarding my condition and other results. Hopefully, this information will be of benefit to those considering this, more so on the physical end of things than whether or not to do it. If you have already decided you were going to do this but curious about another person’s experience, hopefully, the three posts I have made here will be of some help in the process of your consideration.

In summary of previous events, I prepared for the surgery by showering and five days before the operation, used an electric shaver. I do this anyway for cosmetic reasons but this time, I wanted to make less work for the prepping nurse. Because I’d learned electric shavers leave the skin in a rash-like condition, I decided to let some stubble grow back. As a result, the nurse only had to take a few swipes at the area where the incision was to be made.

That clinic does not give valium or any other drugs like that. The nurse held onto me and kept me distracted as the xylocaine shots were being administered which was truly the most painful part of the entire operation. The rest of the time, it was a breeze. I was administered an “open-ended” traditional vasectomy.

Afterward, I had lower abdominal soreness and sensitive tenderness of the testicles and at the sites of the incision. All of these were easily relieved with Excedrin and a bag of frozen peas on the genitals the two days I spent at home. I stopped draining about 3 days in. My walking was gentle while and I kept using my tightest fitting briefs the 5-6 days immediately following the surgery. The sutures came out about 7 days after they were sewn in.

None of the warning signs showed up such as swelling beyond the size of a marble, excessive stretching of the scrotal sac, redness of the skin. I only experienced swelling on the left side which was opposite the doctor at the time. I experienced no bruising and the scrotal sac nor the base of my penis turned black and blue.

The testicles remained sensitive to the touch over 14 days after the vasectomy was performed but only if really being handled (for example, when changing clothes, showering, etc). I was walking/running around just fine.

By week three, it was as if I never had the operation. The sites of incision merely hardened but one cannot see the scar on the left side and there’s only a little red line on the right side. There was no swelling, no tenderness, or sensitivity anywhere within the region beyond what’s normal.

Since about the 6th day after the vasectomy, I was counting ejaculations. It took me a lot longer to hit #20 than usual because of a series of untimely stressful situations that didn’t leave me much feeling like partaking in that activity. However, on April 16th, I submitted a sample to the lab where a 0 sperm count was found. Not even non-motile sperm.

Everything was a complete success.

As per the instructions, I plan on having another sample taken in September and again next March to make sure the vas did not grow back and defeat the purpose of going through the few days of soreness and the initial two shots of xylocaine. 😉

I would just like to thank Dr. Schapiro and his assistant that morning, the staff of UCLA Urology at Santa Monica, trifold, and David of vasectomy-information.com for providing exactly what I needed to accomplish the results I have been looking for.

Happy is too mild a word to describe how I feel about my this new, permanent improvement I have made to my life.

Best regards to you all.

Submitted by Dairenn, California