Vasectomy – Myths

Transcript

Because vasectomies are such a common part of my practice, I hear a lot of myths associated with it. So I’m going to talk about five of the most common myths that I hear, and discuss them. Vasectomy myth number one: Sex won’t feel as good after a vasectomy. Sex will probably feel as good, if not better, after a vasectomy. Main reason is, you have that freedom. You don’t have that stress, that anxiety of unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. Second reason is, where we do the vasectomy relative to the blood vessels and nerves that are involved in sexual function and sexual performance, we’re not getting anywhere close to those. So your sexual performance, your erectile function, your libido and your sexual satisfaction are not impacted in any way by a vasectomy. Vasectomy myth number two: Your testosterone levels will go down after a vasectomy. It is true that sperm and testosterone are both produced by the testicles.

However, we’re only interfering with the sperm pathway. Testosterone is transported through the body through the blood vessels. And we’re not touching those in any way. So your testosterone levels do not go down after a vasectomy. Vasectomy myth number three: You won’t be able to ejaculate or have an erection after a vasectomy. Again, this is not true. If you could ejaculate before your vasectomy, you will be able to ejaculate after a vasectomy. Ejaculatory fluid is really composed of fluid from the prostate, the seminal glands, as well as the testicles. The testicles are only contributing about 1% of your total ejaculate volume. So after a vasectomy, you’re not going to notice any difference in the volume of your ejaculation.

Vasectomy myth number four: A vasectomy shuts down my sperm production. Again, this is not true. Although a vasectomy does block the pathway of sperm, it doesn’t necessarily impact its production. So even before a vasectomy, your sperm is constantly being produced. And if you’re not ejaculating every five days or so, that sperm is being produced and then decaying. Same thing happens after a vasectomy. That sperm’s constantly in a state of production, however, it’s decaying at the same rate. Therefore, a vasectomy has no impact in terms of shutting down your sperm production. Vasectomy myth number five: A vasectomy causes prostate cancer. This is really a hotly debated topic. There’s a lot of people and there’s a lot of science that’s gone into looking at this. And when you’re looking at all the studies, there’s zero conclusive evidence that a vasectomy actually causes prostate cancer. So rest assured, there is no impact.