Assessing the effectiveness of a vasectomy

After a vasectomy, its effectiveness should be checked. When should this be done? It is best to perform such a semen analysis after a vasectomy in the 8th and 12th week. We are often asked: why at 8 weeks and not, for example, at 3 weeks? This is because organogenesis, i.e. the formation of sperm until final maturation, takes 8 weeks. If the first semen analysis shows no sperm, we do not recommend performing a second test at 12 weeks. The patient scans and sends the result to the email address: badania@wazektomia.com and usually receives a reply within 3-4 working days with greetings and best wishes from the doctor.

FAQ

Who is most interested in the results of a semen analysis for the presence of sperm after a vasectomy?

In 75% of cases, it is our patients' partners. Sometimes these responses to the writing partner are problematic, because we usually do not know who is writing to us. Maybe it is a neighbour, maybe a colleague sitting at the next desk? After a brief consultation with the patient, we determine that everything is under control and we can send a response to the email address provided. We sometimes have certain problems with test results, but these are extremely rare... What does this sometimes look like? We receive the results of a semen analysis from our patient after a vasectomy. After multiplying the number of millilitres in the delivered semen by the number of sperm in 1 ml of semen, we obtain a result, e.g. 65,000,000. Of course, our patient is not satisfied with the effectiveness of the vasectomy. Our team is similarly concerned. I usually respond to the patient that this is not his result, that he has better results after the vasectomy than before.

What is the next step?

I ask for the second test to be performed, but I suggest that it be done in a reputable academic laboratory. Only three days have passed since the previous test and the sperm count is ZERO. So everything is fine. We remind our patients that when donating semen, they should say: “I have had a vasectomy and I am interested in whether there are any live sperm in the semen I have provided”. Most laboratories describe all parameters as in In vitro tests. The three dead sperm described, after centrifugation in all the material provided, are sometimes a problem of the type “my wife is very upset about this fact”. When the correspondence is prolonged, I ask the patient to collect these three dead sperm from the laboratory, as they are not at home, take a good photo, frame it nicely and hang it in the bedroom above the bed. Where to keep these sperm preserved on a glass slide, I do not know. After such correspondence, we can only laugh together at what we are doing, including wishing the family success. As the family is supposed to be happy after the vasectomy.

Where can such tests be conducted?

Our website contains a list of laboratories. Regardless of this list, it is a good idea to check in your place of residence, make a phone call and ask whether semen analysis is performed, how much it costs and how to deliver it.

What changes?

Here is an example of what a sensible description of a post-vasectomy semen analysis might look like: “semen analysis after vasectomy” from the Farti Medica Fertility Centre in Warsaw. Of course, every laboratory has its own template! A unique feature of this Fertility Centre is the semen collection room. I am not sure if we would find a similar room anywhere else in the EU... Farti Medica's address is also listed in the list of laboratories performing semen analysis. These are often In Vitro clinics.