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Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffFor most men, a vasectomy doesn't cause any noticeable side effects, and serious complications are rare.
Side effects right after surgery can include:
- Swelling
- Bruising of your scrotum
- Bleeding or a blood clot (hematoma) inside the scrotum
- Blood in your semen
- Infection of the surgery site
Delayed complications can include:
- Fluid buildup in the testicle, which can cause a dull ache that gets worse with ejaculation
- Inflammation caused by leaking sperm (granuloma)
- Pregnancy, in the event that your vasectomy fails (rare)
- Chronic pain (rare)
Unfounded concerns
Many men worry that a vasectomy could cause serious problems — but these fears are unfounded. For example, a vasectomy won't:
- Affect your sexual performance. A vasectomy won't affect your sex drive or your masculinity in any way other than preventing you from fathering a child.
- Permanently damage your sexual organs. There's very little risk that your testicles, penis or other parts of your reproductive system will be injured during surgery.
- Increase your risk of certain cancers. Although there have been some concerns about a possible link between vasectomy and prostate and testicular cancer in the past, there's no proven link.
- Increase your risk of heart disease. As with cancer fears, there's doesn't appear to be any link between vasectomy and heart problems.
- Cause severe pain. You may feel minor pain and pulling or tugging during surgery, but severe pain is rare. Likewise, after surgery you may have some pain in the surgery area, but for most men it's minor and goes away after a few days.
Desire to father children after a vasectomy
If you change your mind about having a child, it may be possible to reverse your vasectomy. However, there's no guarantee a vasectomy reversal will work. The surgery is more complicated than the original vasectomy, can be expensive and is ineffective for many men. Before you get a vasectomy, you should be certain you don't want to father a child in the future.
- Ongaro T, et al. Overview of vasectomy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 9, 2010.
- Sandlow J. Vasectomy. In: Wein A, et al. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/113902114-4/783811529/1445/37.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-7216-0798-6..50036-4--cesec5_2536. Accessed Dec. 9, 2010.
- Clenny T, et al. Vasectomy techniques. American Family Physician. http://www.aafp.org/afp/990700ap/137.html. Accessed Dec. 9, 2010.
- Cutie CJ. Patient information: Vasectomy. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 9, 2010.
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