How Successful Are Vasectomy Reversals?

One of the first questions patients often ask when exploring the option of a vasectomy reversal is how successful are reversals? The answer is this: When performed by a highly-skilled microsurgeon like the surgeons at the Vasectomy Reversal Center of America, success rates are over 90%*.

The skill, experience, and training of a surgeon truly make the difference when it comes to the best outcomes of a vasectomy reversal. It’s important to go to a surgeon who has been trained in microsurgery and who performs vasectomy reversals on a regular basis. At the Vasectomy Reversal Center of America, all of our microsurgeons are fellowship-trained in microsurgery and male reproductive medicine and have extensive experience, and great success, performing vasectomy reversals.

To understand how a skilled microsurgeon can produce such high success rates, it’s important to understand what goes into performing such a delicate procedure.

In a vasectomy reversal, the structures that are being operated on – the vas deferens and/or the epididymis – can range in size from ½ to ⅕ mm in diameter. To put this into perspective, the structures are very tiny, about the size of a pinhole. It takes a significant degree of magnification to visualize such delicate structures and repair them properly. This is where microsurgery comes into play. Because of the extremely small size of these vessels, they cannot be seen with the naked eye, nor can they be effectively visualized with magnifying loops (the magnification glasses worn by some surgeons that only magnify an area 2 to 3 times).

A microsurgeon is trained to use a powerful microscope that magnifies the area more than 20 times. Because precise suture placement is imperative when performing a vasectomy reversal, this magnification, as well as the skill and expertise in performing the more challenging procedure called an epididymovastomy for men who have a blockage in the epididymis, is vital. Unless a surgeon uses a high powered microscope, he or she cannot detect a blockage in the epididymis and it is technically difficult to perform an epididymovastomy.

Our microsurgeons have performed multiple “re-dos” for patients who went to a surgeon not trained in microsurgery. Fortunately for these patients, we often see good outcomes with re-dos because of our team’s expertise in microsurgical techniques, the center’s high powered microscope, and our dedicated vasectomy reversal operating team.

The fact is, general urologists not utilizing the microsurgical technique for vasectomy reversals have success rates that are much lower – only about 30 to 40%. Success rates for vasectomy reversals performed by a skilled microsurgeon like our team at the Vasectomy Reversal Center of America are over 90%. These stats don’t lie. When it comes to realizing the dream of conceiving a child naturally, having a vasectomy reversal performed by a microsurgeon affords patients with the very best outcome – a baby.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT VASECTOMY REVERSAL AND CONCEIVING A BABY NATURALLY, CONTACT US AT 855-428-3222.