Testing is the Key to Preventing Pregnancy after Vasectomy The usual recommendation is to perform two (2) tests within 2-4 months following the procedure, and then once a year thereafter. The results of both tests should be negative.
“You should have your urologist test a sample of your semen after approximately 8 weeks or 20 ejaculations following the vasectomy to make sure it's free of sperm,” recommended Dr. Masson.
After your vasectomy, you will need to make sure there are no sperm in your semen. You will have to give your doctor a semen sample. The doctor or the lab will count the number of sperm. You must wait for about 3 months after the vasectomy to give your doctor the sample.
Even with a successful surgery and you following the proper post-vasectomy plan, your vas deferens can reconnect months or years later. In some cases, this has happened 10 years after a vasectomy!
Follow-up PVSA tests, done two to four months after the procedure, are recommended to confirm that vasectomy was successful. Previous standard of practice called for two consecutive PVSAs showing no measurable sperm count (azoospermia).
However, in some cases, the vas deferens grow back several years after the procedure. The growth may continue until a connection is recreated, allowing the free flow of sperm to the urethra. An extremely rare and successful reconnection can occur after 10 to 14 years or more and is usually almost impossible to notice.
The life cycle of sperm is 63 days. 80% of men will be sterile after 15 ejaculations or 6 weeks after a vasectomy. By 10 weeks, 85% of men will have no sperm in the ejaculate. Therefore, a safe time period to say would be approximately 3 months (12 weeks) after vasectomy with about 20 ejaculations.
One of the most significant pros of a vasectomy is that a vasectomy is a very effective and permanent form of birth control. Only one to two in 1,000 men have a vasectomy that fails.
The total number of motile sperm recorded was 2.5 million. Conclusion: This case shows that late recanalization can occur up to seven years after a vasectomy. Patients should be informed prior to the procedure that late recanalization, although rare, may still occur.
Recanalization
It is also possible for a vasectomy to fail weeks, months, or even years after the procedure through a process called recanalization. Recanalization happens when the vas deferens grow back to create a new connection, causing the vasectomy to reverse itself.
The only way to confirm if a vasectomy was effective is to obtain a semen analysis. It can take several weeks to clear sperm after a vasectomy. A semen analysis after at least 6 weeks can confirm if the sperm has cleared.
Despite an initially successful vasectomy procedure, the divided ends of the vas deferens can reconnect. Most often this occurs in the first three (3) months of the vasectomy procedure.
This case shows that late recanalization can occur up to seven years after a vasectomy and despite oligospermia, conception is still possible.
6-8 days following vasectomy several of 23 ejaculates still contained spermatozoa of the quality and number likely to produce pregnancy. 13-15 days after vasectomy all or the great majority of residual spermatozoa were dead.
Is Getting Pregnant After a Vasectomy Possible? A vasectomy is one of the best ways to prevent pregnancy, with rates of pregnancy around 1/1,000 after the first year, and between 2-10/1,000 after five years. Most reports indicate that following a vasectomy a couple has a less than 1% chance of getting pregnant.
After your vasectomy, if you change your mind about having children, there are two procedures that can help you have a child with your partner. The two options are: a vasectomy reversal or sperm aspiration prior to in vitro fertilization (IVF).
A vasectomy is over 99.99% effective in preventing pregnancies. Like tubal ligation in people assigned female at birth (AFAB), a vasectomy is a one-time procedure that provides permanent contraception.
Some studies suggest that moderate ejaculation (2–4 times per week) is associated with a lower prostate cancer risk. However, ejaculating more often doesn't mean your cancer risk drops even more.
While there is no definite age at which male ejaculation ceases, it has been suggested that it may happen when a man reaches his late 40s or early 50s. It is important to note, however, that this is not a universal rule and some men may continue to ejaculate at a later age.
Sperm After Vasectomy
Once you have a vasectomy, the sperm can no longer move out of the tube. The membrane (lining) of the epididymis absorbs most of the sperm where it dissolves. It's a natural part of the body's process.
I counsel all men and their wives that the vas deferens can grow back together (recanalization) after a vasectomy. This usually occurs in the first six to eight weeks after the procedure, before the sperm count goes to zero.
Sperm would have a 5% probability of surviving more than 4.4 days and a 1% probability of surviving more than 6.8 days.
What color is semen after a vasectomy? Your semen will look just like it did before your vasectomy. Usually, semen has the consistency of thin mucus and a clear, gray, or white, opalescent color. Since the sperm makes up a very small volume of the semen, you won't notice a change in the amount you ejaculate.