This is my first post on this website. I have recently visited this site and found the vasectomy page both informative and useful.
I had a VasClip vasectomy performed about 4 months ago. With this, I had the no-scalpel technique done, to expose the vas tubes. In my mind, the no-scalpel technique, combined with the VasClip procedure, offered the most minimally-invasive procedure, with the least possible complications. I must say, however, that this was not entirely the case. This story may be quite detailed and quite a bit rambling, but here goes.
I did some research and found a urologist that had done the VasClip vasectomy several times. I met with him, and he seemed pretty good, so he got the job, so to speak. Now, as you may know, the Vasclip procedure does not cut the vas tubes at all, but instead, 2 tiny medical devices (1 for each side) uses a clip to basically clamp the vas tubes shut. The trauma to the tubes is much less, and the possibility of reversal is much better.
As mentioned earlier, the tubes were accessed using the no-scalpel technique, in which a tiny puncture is made in the top middle of the scrotum, then stretched to access both tubes. This area is first numbed of course, with a shot. The vas tubes were then numbed, with several shots of lidocaine, or whatever the chemical was. The shots into the tubes hurt more than the shot into the skin of the scrotum. The right side was done first, then the doc went on to the left side. For some reason, the left side proved more difficult. It required an extra shot of lidocaine, and the tube itself seemed harder to locate/isolate. I could hear a snap as each clip was clamped into place with a special tool the company sends with the clips.
The tubes were then put back in place inside the scrotum, then the area was bandaged, and I was fitted with a disposable jock-strap. As I was having a conversation with the doctor afterward, I felt the anesthetic starting to wear-off a little bit. The left side started hurting a bit (this was a sign of things to come), but the doctor said that this was normal. I went home and spent the weekend taking it easy (I had the procedure done on a Friday, and was back at work the following Monday). The opening to the scrotum was not stitched-up, by design. It was to close on its own.
About a day and a half after the procedure, I took the jockstrap and dressing off, and couldn’t believe my eyes! Most of my scrotum was black and blue (dark purple, actually), as well as the underside of the base of my penis. A lot of bleeding under the skin it seemed. Everything down there was sore, especially the opening made to the scrotum. From the opening wound came some strange pain sensations. I had these prickly pain sensations that started at the opening made in the scrotum, which then radiated upwards, following the underside of the penis, up to the head. It honestly made me feel like I had a urinary tract infection. I did leave a urine sample with the lab, and they said the urine was clean (no infection). The opening to the scrotum took a week to close completely. It eventually healed with no trace of a scar, but before that, it left a lump of inflamed tissue beneath the skin that hurt for a whole month.
Another unsettling thing was that the cremaster muscle, the one that regulates how high or low the testicles hang (to keep the temp. constant), well, this muscle on the left side would tighten-up on its own, sometimes to a point where it was very uncomfortable, then it would “let go”. This uncomfortable phenomenon lasted intermittently for 3 whole months. Also, I was left with sensitive testicles, especially the left one (for some reason, the left side had the worst of everything). The testicles were always on “high alert”, or DEFCON-5 if you know what I mean. The slightest blow hurt much more than it should have.
I am 4 months post-vasectomy now, and the testicles (mainly the left one) are still sensitive, although I am getting “used” to the increased sensitivity (but not too happy about it). I have abandoned wearing boxers, and now wear briefs every day. Also, I’ve found it more comfortable to sleep with a pillow between my legs, so that the scrotum isn’t getting squeezed by my inner thighs.
Now to the clips. For the first month, I had considerable discomfort. It felt like the clips were irritating the surrounding tissue, which was inflamed and sensitive, due to the procedure. By a small amount each day, the discomfort lessened. But to this day, 4 months post Vasclip vasectomy, I still have intermittent pain down there. The pain is at times mild and bearable, but then for no reason, I would get these very sharp but brief spikes in pain. This worried me so much, that I asked for a scrotal ultrasound. The ultrasound came back normal, but the pain still happens intermittently, especially on the left side.
My doctor has had no Vasclip recipients, except me, that has had so much discomfort for such a long time, so he says. I’m his first, it seems. I have some theories as to what may be causing my discomfort. They are:
- For the sensitive testicles: I say it’s congestion of sperm, although the ultrasound didn’t show this.
- For the dull pain: congestion again (in the epididymides), and possibly lingering inflammation.
- For the sharp pains: my thoughts are perhaps pinched or damaged nerves, or the clips themselves.
In addition, I personally think the clips need to be redesigned. The locking mechanism of the clips is a bit bulky and has somewhat rough edges to it. This isn’t good, considering it is rubbing-up against inflamed tissue. That said, I am still glad I chose this route, only because it is much easier to reverse, should the need come. However, this very long recovery is very unsettling.
Also, I have some further thoughts I’d like to add to the above. It is also my opinion that there is a “code of silence” among doctors performing vasectomies. What I mean by this is, they downplay the topic of post-vasectomy pain syndrome. They usually never even mention it. The doctors lead you to believe that this is a simple procedure, to which you will completely recover in less than a week, with no long-lasting side effects or discomfort.
If lingering pain does happen, they simply tell you to “give it more time, and it will go away”. If it doesn’t go away, then one is basically on his own. Not good, I say. I would like to add that my discomfort does not seem to be improving, and I am starting to seriously consider a reversal in the near future.
October 28, 2006 Update
A lot has happened since my last post, and I thought I’d take the time to update you, as I feel a strong need to share what has happened to me.
My daily discomfort never ceased, and I made the decision to have the vas clips removed. I won a long battle with my insurance company, and they finally agreed to cover the costs involved. As I sit here at my PC now, it has been 6 days since the surgery, to not only remove the vas clips but to repair the damage that they caused. My urologist said that it looked like my body was trying to reject the vas clip implants. If you were to speak with the VasClip company, they would say that this is unheard of and impossible.
Well, I am living proof that it can indeed happen. In addition, due to (in my opinion) poor design, one of the vas clips got hung-up on some sensitive tissue and caused painful “tethering” of the vas. My urologist removed the clips and did his best to repair the damage they have caused me. But, the operation was painful, and to this day I am in pain, although it is predicted to eventually go away completely. Also, I believe that sperm congestion was an issue as well, as the vas clip procedure is similar to a closed-ended vasectomy.
I strongly regret getting a vas clip vasectomy. Those 2 little clips caused me many months of daily pain. It will be a long time before I recover. All in all, I am extremely upset, and am planning to spread the word, and advise anyone I can to avoid both the vas clip vasectomy and the traditional vasectomy, at all costs! Thank you for letting me share this story. I will update again in the future.
Submitted by Anthony
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Dave here,
I have experienced major levels of pain, chronic discomfort and very frustrating sexual disfunction (not to mention embarrassing) as a result of a vasectomy procedure which included the use of the titanium vas clips. It has been 8 months since my procedure was accomplished. I cannot comfortably ride my horse, sitting at rest in a chair or driving is still a problem and constantly uncomfortable. Squatting heavy weights at the gym is still on the do not even attempt list. I also had to undergo enguinal hernia surgery one month after the vasectomy, where I can honestly state, the pain and discomfort from that procedure was and has been 100 percent less and bearable. There doesn’t seem to be many published testimonial’s covering this subject. From the reading I have done thus far, I truly believe this is because of the Doctors code of silence. They simply don’t want to admit that a practiced technique doesn’t yield the intended or desired outcome. Not to mention they will narrow mindedly allow an acceptable amount of failure at the patients expense. My own VA doctor still dismisses both the likelihood and possibility of having complications as a result of having titanium clips used for my vasectomy. I would highly advise all men to stay away from urologists who practice vasectomy procedures using titanium clips, especially when that Vas is cut and four clips are installed.. then they are free to float around your scrotum whilst snagging and damaging surrounding soft tissue’s. A good description would be, it feels like a beat up bag of chopped meat that no one understands. Why on earth would you even consider using sharp metallic objects in the most hyper-sensitive part of a mans body..? Disheartening as it all sounds, this is my reality. Sadly we will probably never see the medical field take ownership of this debacle.
Dave
I have the same titanium clips which were used for a vasectomy procedure I had done by the VA 03 October 2020. It’s been several months and I still have extreme discomfort and notable sexual distinction as a result. Yes! I can feel all four clips that were installed. They are doing soft tissue damage. Waiting to see what the VA urologist is going to do as a corrective measure. Right now it’s been dismissed as I am overreacting and I’m being told to give it more time to heal. Not acceptable.
20 years ago I had my vasectomy. Cut and clips a year later it hurt so bad all the time. The doctor decided to remove the clips. 1 year later everything was fine. Allergic to the titanium clips was the diagnosis.
Recently had this “gentle touch surgery” done on Dec 31. Full of regret now as well. I think the potential for problems comes with the titanium clips. I actually asked the doctor not to use these but his reply to this was less than adequate. He said sure I can do this but I don’t keep the necessary stitch work here in this room so I’d need to run downstairs and get it. I asked do you do a lot of these without the titanium clips? He said no, almost all of his vasectomies are done using this technique. This is a BS statement made from the providers of these titanium clips I assure you. Look at the last post on here that showed someone that was fine – notice the difference – no titanium clips. Yet everyone else. I have seen make any post about these clips always has the same blood-curling answer that I now have to echo myself – DO NOT USE THEM! First metal in your ball sack. Think about it.
Btw thank you for the advice about sleeping with a pillow between my legs – was huge to help. Wish the doctor would have remembered to tell this. Also really wish I would have opted for the no titanium approach. Now am stuck doing another more risky surgery to remove. I hate this way I feel now almost as much as I hate the company that’s selling these unhealthy clips that should otherwise be called ‘long-termed-cancer-clips”. I feel like if I leave them in, this is what I’m destined for. Watch Balls on Prime if you need some reasons to not want to go this way. No thanks and you’ve all been warned.
I had read this before my vasectomy. I had the no-needle, no-scalpel, open-ended version, similar to the youtube “gentle touch vasectomy”. I had also watched that before my procedure.
There was a consultation, a prescription for 3 antibiotics, one to be taken the night before. Also told to shave the top of my scrotum.
On the day of the procedure, the nurse had me sign a paper and gave me a pair of briefs to put on and left me to change into them. The doctor then came in and took me down the hall to another room. He told me to step up face the wall, pull my draws down, and lay on the table. He then washed my scrotum with disinfectant. I asked if I could record it, he said no, but you can watch it. He used the Mada jet. I told him that the dentist used 9 vials of lidocaine and I could still feel his work. He used two bursts on each cord and loaded a needle just in case. He clamped the cord in his ring clamp, leaned the clamp back leaving the cord topside, then he poked the cord with his pointed forceps, and pulled the vas deferens out about 1/2 inch, pulled the sheath back with his fingers. Took the cautery tool and poked it in my prostrate side until it turned white, then divided the vas deferens with the same hot end. I told him that I would prefer not to have the clip, that other people said they could sometimes feel them, he didn’t put it on. He let the cord drop in while holding the testicular side out for a bit, then dropping the rest in. Moved to the other side and did the same. Placed a dry gauze on my scrotum and told me to stand and pull my pants back up. I will admit my first step or two was cautious. But surprised that I felt like I did walking in. Was given to sample cups and a backpack with aftercare instructions.
The friend I took to drive me home wanted to look at a car that he saw. We ended up walking some car lots and everything was fine. Midnight I awoke with an erection, I was advised to not ejaculate for a couple of days, but it felt OK. I did stay out of the swimming pool for the full week.
No swelling, bruising, bleeding, pain, or scar. On the third day, small lumps formed where it was open-ended, but they were painless and disappeared in a while. Waited three months to get a sample, and I am now sterile. I never needed the second cup. Worry-free sex is wonderful.
I have been dealing with these exact symptoms for 10 years now. Wish I’d never had the procedure done!
I had a hydrocele about 8 years ago. My vas deferens has been very painful since shortly after the surgery. I would not let the same surgeon that caused it to go back in and try to fix it. I was thinking about a vasectomy but I’m getting pulled in all kinds of different directions. Thank you for your input into this and informing people of what can happen.
Could you provide an update on how this ultimately resolved?