For men who are done having children or are sure they do not want children, a vasectomy is a sterilization procedure that is nearly 100 percent effective. This makes it an efficient form of birth control.

During a vasectomy, the tubes that transport sperm from the testes and out the urethra are cut and then tied or sealed in such a way that sperm is unable to enter the ejaculate and result in fertilization of the female egg, thus making the man sterile and unable to produce children.

This outpatient procedure is brief (typically less than 30 minutes) and is often performed by a urologist in a medical clinic or office setting. Hospital stay is not necessary since a vasectomy is an uncomplicated technique that only entails small incisions and routine surgical instruments—the patient is only required to stay in the physician’s office for a short recovery period (usually less than an hour) and is then sent home to rest.

With a traditional vasectomy, a needle is used to numb the scrotum with a local anesthetic. Two tiny incisions—one on each side of the scrotum—are then made with a scalpel, as to allow the surgeon to pull each vas deferens tube to the surface so that it can be isolated and separated from the scrotal tissue. Once the tubes are secluded from the scrotum, they are sealed off using sutures or are burned using electrical cautery.

While there are several variations of this method, all end with the vas deferens tubes being occluded or sealed off. The most common and advantageous include: ·
         

• No-needle vasectomy: The same techniques used in a traditional vasectomy to occlude the vas deferens are used here, but there is an exception. Instead of using a needle to inject anesthesia, a jet-injection tool is utilized. Known as a hypospray injector, the numbing instrument uses a small explosion of compressed air to force medication deep enough into the scrotal tissue to permit a nearly pain-free surgery.

• No-scalpel vasectomy: Rather than a scalpel, the surgeon uses a special clamp that has extremely sharp tips to pierce the skin of the scrotum. The vas is then pulled and separated from the scrotal sac without having to cut the blood vessels or nerves adjacent to the scrotum. Once isolated, the vas is sealed off by way of sutures or electrical cautery.

Throughout these procedures, other techniques may be used, such as fascial interposition, in which tissue is placed between the cut ends of the vas deferens as a means of providing a barrier. The tissue is stitched into place and helps prevent procedure failure. It is often combined with intraluminal cautery, where one or both sides of the vas are electrically burned closed.

A vasectomy should be considered permanent and the male undergoing the procedure should be sure that he is done having children or does not want children in the future. The procedure can be undone by way of a vasectomy reversal, but it is more complicated and success is not guaranteed.