Mr Stephen Lindsay has over 35 years experience in Vasectomy reversal surgery. He does these procedures are done at Bendigo Day Surgery under the operating microscope.
About Vasectomy Reversal
Vasectomy reversal surgery is performed as a day case under general anaesthetic using an operating microscope. It is a lot more complex than vasectomy.
A single small incision is made in the front of the scrotum. The vasectomy site on each side is identified and the closed off section is removed. The open ends of the vas tube are rejoined with fine sutures. The incision is closed with dissolving sutures and a waterproof dressing applied. The anaesthetic and surgery usually takes around 2-3 hours.
Postoperative Care
You will need someone to drive you home after your surgery and stay with you on the first postoperative night.
Pain relief – Local anaesthetic is injected into the incision to give pain relief for the first few hours. You will be given a prescription for strong pain relief, and should stop at the chemist on the way home to pick this up. You should take your strong pain relief before the local anaesthetic wears off. Paracetamol and Nurofen can also be used as needed.
Wound care – The dressing is waterproof and you can shower the next day. This comes off after a few days and does not need to be replaced as long as the wound is clean and dry.
Surface bruising and swelling is common. There is only a small risk of infection. If you have increasing pain, bruising or swelling, redness or fever you should contact Bendigo Urology.
Resuming Physical Activity – Rest as much as possible. You will need to reduce physical activity for 4 weeks (work, sport and sex) to reduce the risks of bleeding and bruising. Complications such as infection, bruising and haematoma can disrupt the anastamosis and lead to failure of the reversal surgery.
You will have a follow-up appointment with Mr Lindsay at around 4 weeks postoperatively. You have the option of having a sperm count at 3 months to see if there are sperm coming through.
Vasectomy Reversal surgery is not always successful.
Even with everything going perfectly with the surgery and your postoperative care, pregnancy cannot be guaranteed. There is less chance of achieving a pregnancy if your partner has fertility problems, if diathermy was used to close off the vas during the vasectomy, if there was a long length of vas removed or if there has been a long time (10 years+) since your vasectomy.
Costs
The Bendigo Urology service is available to all, but this is a private surgical practice and we do not bulk bill.
If you have Private Health Insurance, we will do a cover check and outline the costs of your procedure including any gap payment above what Medicare and your private health insurance fund will cover.
If you do not have private health insurance, you can self-fund for your procedure. We will provide a detailed explanation of all of the costs involved in your procedure.