Sterilization Reversal

Are The Alternatives To Vasectomy Reversal Worthwhile?

Having undergone a vasectomy, a man just might be reluctant to have more surgery to reverse things. No matter how much you might really want another child, you really just want to know about the alternatives to vasectomy reversal.

Your first alternative would be to use any sperm that was removed when you first had your vasectomy. Many urologists offer this service of sperm banking for just this situation where the patient has changed his mind and now wants a child. There would be an initial fee for the removal of sperm and then an on-going fee, usually yearly, to keep it frozen. You would have to use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to have your spouse's eggs fertilized.

However, if you were not lucky enough to have done this, there are still a couple other vasectomy reversal alternatives. One would be to have someone else donate sperm to fertilize your wife's eggs. This could come from a family member or from a sperm bank. The donated sperm is then inserted into your wife's cervix or uterus during ovulation. Just like regular intercourse, the job might not get done the first time...or the tenth time either.

Another alternative would be to have some of your sperm removed. This is done either with surgery or with non-surgical methods. But even the non-surgical methods will cause pain as a needle (a fine needle or a biopsy needle) is inserted into the testicles or the epididymis. Again your partner will have to undergo IVF or a combination of ICSI/IVF.

ICSI stands for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In this procedure, the sperm is directly inserted into an egg. This procedure was developed by Dr. Sherman Silber who also performs vasectomy reversals. He pperforms surgical extraction of sperm from the epididymis or vas. This sperm is then used with the ICSI procedure and the fertilized egg then reinserted into your wife.

However, even as the inventor of ICSI, Dr. Silber recommends a vasectomy reversal as the most cost efficient and productive alternative. Once the reversal is done, you have multiple chances to try to make a baby.

With the alternatives to vasectomy reversal, you not only have your surgery or puncture with a needle, you also have all that your spouse must go through. There are the drugs, injections, ultrasounds, and removal of eggs for each try each cycle. If a pregnancy does not result, there is a wait of 3-4 cycles before it can be tried again.

The pregnancy rate per try is only 40% down to about 18%. The odds are much better for a vasectomy reversal (unless there is some over-riding medical reason) and much less costly as well. The impact on your spouse is considerably less as well.

So you can see that the alternatives to vasectomy reversal are more expensive, time consuming and much more invasive and difficult on your partner. Looks like a reversal is the best course.

Copyright 2007 Sandra Wilson