Sirius’ experience: Vasectomy at a GP clinic

My partner and I decided together over the summer that we definitely didn’t want any more kids and due to some complications using the mini-pill we decided on a vasectomy. We saw our G.P. and were recommended for an appointment. We are in the U.K. and the N.H.S. does vasectomies for free in most cases. We were hoping to go to the local hospital but were referred instead to another G.P. clinic that has a minor surgery room. Unfortunately, the waiting time was quite long i.e. 3 months and that left a lot of time for nerves to kick in.

The vasectomy

The only preparations I was told to make in advance were to have a shower in the morning and wear a pair of supportive underpants. It seems that shaving the scrotum is becoming less common as surgeons are worried about infections caused this way.

We drove to the surgery and were given the usual chat by the surgeon about the procedure. After that, I went into the operating theatre. I removed my shoes and socks and once on the table pulled my briefs down to below the knees. The surgeon covered the penis with a plastic sheet and swabbed my scrotum with some antiseptic/anesthetic combo. Then he injected me with a local anesthetic. After a while he did a scratch test, and as I have a fair tolerance to most pain killers he had to put in a little more. He then clamped the right vas in place.

He made one small incision about an inch and a half below the shaft of the penis and pulled out the right vas. He cut it, removed a small section, and then cauterized it with some kind of light/heat wand. He then put a little more local directly into the scrotum and began work on the left side. This was a little more complex as the vas had become slippery and was also slightly attached to the small fatty layer inside the scrotum. This took a little while longer to extract but was painless.

After the operation, the surgeon put in two dissolvable stitches. He warned me that there was a possibility of more bruising and bleeding on the left side and advised me to take a little more time off work than I had planned. He also said it was fine to take Ibuprofen which I was a bit surprised about.

My partner drove me home. I wasn’t in any real pain – just a dull ache mainly on the left side.

The morning after

Well, the left side is pretty swollen already despite me keeping my feet up. I’m expecting some bruising to come out there. I hope there will be no bleeding The right side which has the stitches in feels more like a kind of stinging sensation, which actually is probably a good thing as it means the tissue there is relatively undamaged.

I will keep you informed and I hope this is useful to you.

Submitted by Sirius