I Was Worried, But It Was Easy, Just Don't Rush Recovery...

This forum helped me feel more comfortable about my procedure on 09/07/2011. Thought I might contribute as well. I started by reading online about the various horror outcomes like PVPS, infection, and severe swelling. I was very worried to say the least. I knew we were done having kids, but I was sad to give up the “option”, even if I was confident we were finished. My wife and I went back and forth over the decision literally up to the last few days. It’s hard to close the door on your fertility, even if you don’t need it any more. Once we set our minds that having children was no longer a wholly attractive proposition, the sense of potential loss began to ease. I spoke with two brother-in-laws who had recent vasectomy experiences; they both had positive outcomes and no complications. My urologist also provided a pre-office consultation phone call where he described his experiences with vasectomy complications. In 15 years of procedures preforming several thousand vasectomies and around one thousand reversals he had one patient with PVPS, and it was alleviated by a reversal. In his opinion, the most common complications were caused by patients who rushed back to activity before allotting reasonable time for healing.

I was feeling confident about my decision by the day of the procedure, but still very nervous about the actual surgery. I shaved my scrotum. My brother-in-law also recommended I shave my belly. His doctor taped his penis up, and removal of the tape from the belly was painful. This turned out to be unnecessary; the surgical draping my urologist used (a sheet with a 3” hole cut out) exposed the scrotum without taping the penis. The doctor gently felt my testicle, and then gently located the vas deferens tube leading out. He then pinched my scrotum skin, wrapping the vas deferens tube with a piece of scrotum (like a hot dog in a bun). The first injection occurred at that point, through the thin layer of scrotum and into the tube. It was surprisingly painless. I’ve had immunizations in my arm that hurt, blood draws that stung; this injection was easy, shallow, and quick. Numbing was practically instant. I did feel a little sting when he cut the vas deferens and he gave me a tiny bit more local anesthetic. The other testicle was even less traumatic especially because my sense of anticipation had lessened. Each end of the vas deferens received a single stitch, and my single scrotal incision also got a stitch.

That evening I had minor swelling and bleeding from the incision. I lay in bed that night and the entire next day applying cold packs almost continuously (one in the freezer, one in my pants, switch every 45 minutes). I took two ibuprofen every six hours to minimize swelling. The only pain was a dull ache. Pain medicine was not really necessary. The second full day I spent mostly laying around, with only occasion cold packs. I had a couple thumb-tip sized swollen lumps in my scrotum where the tubes were cut, and there was some aching after standing up for five or ten minutes. I tried to stay off my feet as much as possible and apply cold any time I felt achy. If you don’t want to swell up and/or bleed, lay down as much as possible so gravity is not increasing blood pressure in your scrotum. My scrotum was essentially the same size as always, just tighter and more sensitive.

By the third day I still felt achy when standing for longer periods, but the lumps were shrinking and I was ready to give it a try. ****** was a bit uncomfortable. The remaining swelling caused a tight feeling and some aching. The vas deferens and scrotum contain smooth muscles that contract during ejaculations. Contractions on injured tissues are not pleasant. Even if you are feeling really good, remember it takes time to properly heal inside. Don’t overstimulate the area until your body has reasonable time to recover. It took about nine days before ******* began to feel normal. At 14 days I was feeling about 90%. I could still feel some small (pencil eraser-sized) lumps where the tubes were cut but there was no aching. The stitch in my scrotum had dissolved and fallen out. ******* felt like normal and I was having two a day when practical.

I had a very good experience overall and I am satisfied with my decision. I would do it again.