How successful is a Vasectomy?

If you and your partner have decided that you do not want to have any more children, a vasectomy is the most effective and safest means of doing this. In fact, only about 1 in 1000 operations is not successful. By a vasectomy operation not being ‘successful’ does not necessarily mean that a pregnancy has occurred either. Instead a vasectomy failure is defined by whether there are sperm still found in the semen. This is easily identifiable via a sperm test and the majority of cases where failure occurs are caught out before there is a chance for pregnancy. The majority or men who undergo this operation will have no problems at all with any complication and the operation will be a success.

It is worth knowing however that even in men whose operation has been deemed a ‘success’, there is still a 1 in 2000 chance that fertility will come back. This happens when the vas deferens spontaneously heals and joins together as they once were. This is a long term risk as well as an immediate risk and there are ways to ensure that you are routinely tested for continued success. If you want to make sure that there is as little chance as possible of becoming pregnant, it is recommended that you combine contraceptives so for example, continuing to use condoms will reduce the risk of pregnancy further. Some couples even make sure that both of them have undergone sterilisation, although this is considered by many to be unnecessary.

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