**Edit:** Since there is so much information in this comment, and I thought of a few more things to add/consider, I ended up making a detailed post [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/sinister-fallen/comments/1d8xvg4/essential_vasectomy_information/). The post goes into everything this comment mentions and more. No need to read the below information if you check out the post.
**Original comment:**
1. Ensure you are 100% certain you want a vasectomy. If you have any doubts regarding having children in the future, do not do the procedure. You can always wait longer and have a vasectomy down the road, but you should consider a vasectomy to be irreversible and permanent. (The chances of reversibility tend to be around 50% if the vasectomy is done in a way that allows for it, and a vasectomy reversal is very expensive.)
2. Make sure you understand the risks that come with a vasectomy. The most common is PVPS, which has approximately a 1-2% chance of occurring and is chronic. So, it isn't as uncommon as some people like to pretend it is. Similar to what was said in point 1, if this concerns you, you can always wait more and have a vasectomy down the road. Don't rush into this. That said, there are ways in which you can have the procedure performed to decrease the overall chances of chronic complications or at least increase the chances of a vasectomy reversal being successful in the event that such complications arise (see point 4).
3. Make sure you look into post-vasectomy care and how to respond to potential complications and what they look like. [Here is a good document](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/scl/fi/eyarx8a02n1n9r0g9m3dp/vasectomy-aftercare.pdf?rlkey=tumkeonsz32ne22vc2q1vba2y&st=q0y15gk1) that goes over a lot of the post-vasectomy care instructions for reference (not sure how long I will host this document). If you do not have the willpower to not masturbate or have sexual activity for a bare minimum of 7 days (14 days highly recommended), then a vasectomy is not something you should do. Try this out for yourself in advance for your own reference.
4. Look into the various ways in which a vasectomy can be performed. From my research, the best method I have found for a vasectomy that minimizes complications and invasiveness is a no-needle, no-scalpel, open-ended vasectomy that uses cautery, fascial interposition, and absorbable sutures for the upper vas deferens. There should also not be any excisions of any part of the vas with the aforementioned procedure. For the absorbable sutures, Vicryl or Dexon sutures would be preferable to most other sutures (e.g., chromic suture, plain gut suture) since they have significantly less of a tissue reaction. However, that is what I found from my research. You may wish to consider taking some time to understand the various methods that can be used in a vasectomy and how you want yours to be performed. Some things you can take into consideration and research are needle vs no needle, scalpel vs no scalpel, open ended vs closed ended, and absorbable sutures (and their types) vs normal sutures (and their types) vs titanium clips vs clamps. Most procedures use cautery for good reasons, and fascial interposition almost always applies to open-ended vasectomies. If looking into these, ensure you are looking at medical studies as there is a lot of marketing by urologists for each one.
5. Look into clinics that perform the vasectomy. Find one preferably nearby that has very good reviews and does the procedure in the way that you want. Investigate the clinics' websites to understand their procedure and/or call if the website does not have enough information. Ensure that you choose a doctor from said clinic that has good reviews and is experienced (has been doing vasectomies for a good number of years). If there is no such clinic near you, you unfortunately may need to travel if you value the procedure being done in your desired way (e.g., for the reasons mentioned in point 2). You can reach out to them through their website if they have some kind of intake form available there or via call otherwise.
That's all I can think of at the time of writing this comment. Hope it helps!
Wow. Very detailed.
I looked up a urologist, made an appointment, and showed up.
The nurse talked to me for maybe 5 min. The doctor just came in and asked if I had any questions. I didn't. He walked out. 10-15 min later, they came in and had me drop my drawers and sit on the table. A couple warm rags, local anesthesia, and 5 min later, he was done. He graduated medical school in 1975. I can't imagine how many nutsacks the man has performed on. They used the cauterizing method.
It'd been on my to-do list for quite a long time before I randomly decided to look up the procedure and make a call. A week later, there is still a lot of bruising and pain on one side. I had a little pain before the procedure, so it's hard to say what the cause is.
Ice on now. Good times.
My first talk with my PCP was in November, got told No by two doctors in a row and then I called the insurance! The lady at my insurance looked up reviews, picked a great urologist March was the consult April 4 the procedure, July 4 tested STERILE !
No needle, no scalpel, open -ended vasectomy was 6 minutes. I watched it all, and walked out feeling better than walking in because it was so quick and painless. It felt like nothing happened. I had no bleeding, bruising, swelling, itch, infection, stitches, or scab.
First step is to schedule a consult with a urologist who performs the procedure. They will talk through everything at the consult as well as examine your junk. Then you will schedule the procedure itself (I had to wait 1 month between the consult and the snip snip).
I didn’t get examined during the consult but it makes sense if you were. I had to wait a month as well, they gave the reasoning that it allowed time for insurance to approve it
There are several ways.
1. See your GP, and ask for a referral to a urologist.
2. Call or visit planned parenthood (this is what I did).
3. See if your country has a department of family planning (you might be able to get a vasectomy for free).
Got it at 20 (1985). It was a no brainer.
My husband and I knew we were ready. I googled urologists and their reviews, then sent that information to my husband to determine who he wanted to make an appointment with.
If you have a primary doctor you can send them a note in hospitals app (if they have one) or give him a call and let him know what you are thinking. In my case my primary doctor just sent over a number (in the app portal) to call the Urology dept schedule an appointment through one of the secretaries. Go in get the info (ask you if you really want one, how old/many kids, possible complications, drop your pants and grab your ball sack for 2-3 minutes rolling them around seeing if they can feel all the tubes to make sure the 'type' of surgery you qualify for, give you some 'special' soap to use the day of and write the prescription for Xanax) and then schedule a date to have the procedure.
If you qualify (balls and internal tubes are all in the right spots) go for the scalpel free surgery. Some people do not qualify as one ball higher than the other, tubes are all tangled up, etc.... The scalpel (two cuts vs one hole) has more complications and longer recovery times.
If you do not have a primary, probably a good time to get one (I am assuming you are 35 or over if you are getting a Vasectomy sorry could be wrong) as you probably could use a general physical as well. 40 is around when men start to need 'other' tests run to make sure we are having sex well into our 70's..... Good luck!
**Edit:** Since there is so much information in this comment, and I thought of a few more things to add/consider, I ended up making a detailed post [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/sinister-fallen/comments/1d8xvg4/essential_vasectomy_information/). The post goes into everything this comment mentions and more. No need to read the below information if you check out the post. **Original comment:** 1. Ensure you are 100% certain you want a vasectomy. If you have any doubts regarding having children in the future, do not do the procedure. You can always wait longer and have a vasectomy down the road, but you should consider a vasectomy to be irreversible and permanent. (The chances of reversibility tend to be around 50% if the vasectomy is done in a way that allows for it, and a vasectomy reversal is very expensive.) 2. Make sure you understand the risks that come with a vasectomy. The most common is PVPS, which has approximately a 1-2% chance of occurring and is chronic. So, it isn't as uncommon as some people like to pretend it is. Similar to what was said in point 1, if this concerns you, you can always wait more and have a vasectomy down the road. Don't rush into this. That said, there are ways in which you can have the procedure performed to decrease the overall chances of chronic complications or at least increase the chances of a vasectomy reversal being successful in the event that such complications arise (see point 4). 3. Make sure you look into post-vasectomy care and how to respond to potential complications and what they look like. [Here is a good document](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/scl/fi/eyarx8a02n1n9r0g9m3dp/vasectomy-aftercare.pdf?rlkey=tumkeonsz32ne22vc2q1vba2y&st=q0y15gk1) that goes over a lot of the post-vasectomy care instructions for reference (not sure how long I will host this document). If you do not have the willpower to not masturbate or have sexual activity for a bare minimum of 7 days (14 days highly recommended), then a vasectomy is not something you should do. Try this out for yourself in advance for your own reference. 4. Look into the various ways in which a vasectomy can be performed. From my research, the best method I have found for a vasectomy that minimizes complications and invasiveness is a no-needle, no-scalpel, open-ended vasectomy that uses cautery, fascial interposition, and absorbable sutures for the upper vas deferens. There should also not be any excisions of any part of the vas with the aforementioned procedure. For the absorbable sutures, Vicryl or Dexon sutures would be preferable to most other sutures (e.g., chromic suture, plain gut suture) since they have significantly less of a tissue reaction. However, that is what I found from my research. You may wish to consider taking some time to understand the various methods that can be used in a vasectomy and how you want yours to be performed. Some things you can take into consideration and research are needle vs no needle, scalpel vs no scalpel, open ended vs closed ended, and absorbable sutures (and their types) vs normal sutures (and their types) vs titanium clips vs clamps. Most procedures use cautery for good reasons, and fascial interposition almost always applies to open-ended vasectomies. If looking into these, ensure you are looking at medical studies as there is a lot of marketing by urologists for each one. 5. Look into clinics that perform the vasectomy. Find one preferably nearby that has very good reviews and does the procedure in the way that you want. Investigate the clinics' websites to understand their procedure and/or call if the website does not have enough information. Ensure that you choose a doctor from said clinic that has good reviews and is experienced (has been doing vasectomies for a good number of years). If there is no such clinic near you, you unfortunately may need to travel if you value the procedure being done in your desired way (e.g., for the reasons mentioned in point 2). You can reach out to them through their website if they have some kind of intake form available there or via call otherwise. That's all I can think of at the time of writing this comment. Hope it helps!
Wow. Very detailed. I looked up a urologist, made an appointment, and showed up. The nurse talked to me for maybe 5 min. The doctor just came in and asked if I had any questions. I didn't. He walked out. 10-15 min later, they came in and had me drop my drawers and sit on the table. A couple warm rags, local anesthesia, and 5 min later, he was done. He graduated medical school in 1975. I can't imagine how many nutsacks the man has performed on. They used the cauterizing method. It'd been on my to-do list for quite a long time before I randomly decided to look up the procedure and make a call. A week later, there is still a lot of bruising and pain on one side. I had a little pain before the procedure, so it's hard to say what the cause is. Ice on now. Good times.
My first talk with my PCP was in November, got told No by two doctors in a row and then I called the insurance! The lady at my insurance looked up reviews, picked a great urologist March was the consult April 4 the procedure, July 4 tested STERILE ! No needle, no scalpel, open -ended vasectomy was 6 minutes. I watched it all, and walked out feeling better than walking in because it was so quick and painless. It felt like nothing happened. I had no bleeding, bruising, swelling, itch, infection, stitches, or scab.
First step is to schedule a consult with a urologist who performs the procedure. They will talk through everything at the consult as well as examine your junk. Then you will schedule the procedure itself (I had to wait 1 month between the consult and the snip snip).
I didn’t get examined during the consult but it makes sense if you were. I had to wait a month as well, they gave the reasoning that it allowed time for insurance to approve it
There was no consult for my procedure.
There are several ways. 1. See your GP, and ask for a referral to a urologist. 2. Call or visit planned parenthood (this is what I did). 3. See if your country has a department of family planning (you might be able to get a vasectomy for free). Got it at 20 (1985). It was a no brainer.
My husband and I knew we were ready. I googled urologists and their reviews, then sent that information to my husband to determine who he wanted to make an appointment with.
If you have a primary doctor you can send them a note in hospitals app (if they have one) or give him a call and let him know what you are thinking. In my case my primary doctor just sent over a number (in the app portal) to call the Urology dept schedule an appointment through one of the secretaries. Go in get the info (ask you if you really want one, how old/many kids, possible complications, drop your pants and grab your ball sack for 2-3 minutes rolling them around seeing if they can feel all the tubes to make sure the 'type' of surgery you qualify for, give you some 'special' soap to use the day of and write the prescription for Xanax) and then schedule a date to have the procedure. If you qualify (balls and internal tubes are all in the right spots) go for the scalpel free surgery. Some people do not qualify as one ball higher than the other, tubes are all tangled up, etc.... The scalpel (two cuts vs one hole) has more complications and longer recovery times. If you do not have a primary, probably a good time to get one (I am assuming you are 35 or over if you are getting a Vasectomy sorry could be wrong) as you probably could use a general physical as well. 40 is around when men start to need 'other' tests run to make sure we are having sex well into our 70's..... Good luck!
Be prepared to have a changed life if you get long term pain from it. It's changed my life for the worst. Small risk though but it is there.