Tuesday, July 1, 2008

vasectomy


defintion-A vasectomy is a surgical procedure that makes a man sterile, or unable to get a woman pregnant. It is generally considered to be at least as effective as female sterilization and is simpler to perform, safer, and less costly.

5 questions about vasectomy

1)How is vasectomy done?
In the conventional approach, a physician makes one or two small incisions, or cuts, in the skin of the scrotum, which has been numbed with a local anesthetic. The vas is cut, and a small piece may be removed. Next, the doctor ties the cut ends and sews up the scrotal incision. The entire procedure is then repeated on the other side.A newer method, devised by a Chinese surgeon, has been widely used in China since 1974. This so-called nonsurgical or no- scalpel vasectomy was introduced into the United States in 1988, and many doctors are now using the technique worldwide.In a no-scalpel vasectomy, the doctor feels for the vas under the skin of the scrotum and holds it in place with a small clamp. A special instrument is then used to make a tiny puncture in the skin and stretch the opening so the vas can be cut and tied. This approach produces very little bleeding, and no stitches are needed to close the punctures, which heal quickly by themselves. The newer method also causes less pain and fewer complications than conventional vasectomy.

2)What are the side effects of vasectomy?
A major study of vasectomy side effects occurring within 8 to 10 years after the procedure was published in the British Medical Journal in 1992. Investigators questioned 10,590 vasectomized men, and an equal number of nonvasectomized men, to determine if they had developed any of 99 different disorders. After a total of 182,000 person-years of follow-up, only one condition, epididymitis/orchitis was found to be more common after vasectomy. This local inflammation most often occurs during the first year after surgery. Treated with heat, the condition usually clears within a week.

3)What are the disadvantages of vasectomy?
The chief advantage of vasectomy--its permanence--is also its chief disadvantage. The procedure itself is simple, but reversing it is difficult, expensive, and often unsuccessful. Researchers are studying new methods of blocking the vas that may produce less tissue damage and scarring and might thus permit more successful reversal. But these methods are all experimental, and their effectiveness has not yet been confirmed.

4)Does vasectomy protect against HIV and other STDs?
Although the procedure is extremely effective in preventing pregnancy, vasectomy does not offer any protection whatsoever against HIV/AIDS or any other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Consequently, it is important that vasectomized men continue to use condoms, preferably latex, which offer considerable protection against the spread of disease, in any sexual encounter that carries the risk of contracting or transmitting infection.

5)What is the official view of vasectomy?
The NIH expert panel concluded there is insufficient basis for recommending any change in current clinical or public health practice. Providers should continue to offer vasectomy and to perform the procedure, the panel said. Vasectomy reversal is not warranted to prevent prostate cancer, and screening for prostate cancer should not be any different for men who have had a vasectomy than for those who have not undergone the procedure.

http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/vasectomy.cfmhttp://www.medicinenet.com/vasectomy/page5.htm
glossary :
epididymitis/orchitis- painful, swollen, and tender epididymis or testisdefinition taken from
Scrotum - The sac that contains the testicles, epididymis, and vas deferens
Semen - The combination of sperm and glandular fluid released by the urethra when a man ejaculates; normally a mixture of less than 1% sperm and 99% seminal fluid

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/epididymitis.htm

No comments: