There are situations when traditional contraceptives for some reason are not suitable for couples, or a man wants to completely control his fertility. Then vasectomy comes into play, the cardinal way to prevent unwanted pregnancies. We will tell you how everything happens and what must be taken into account.
37-year-old Donald Glover, also known under the creative pseudonym Childish Gambino, recently said that during the pandemic he became a father for the third time – his beloved Michelle gave birth to a son, who was named after the musician’s recently deceased father (by an interesting coincidence, he too name was Donald)
Glover said that he is thinking about how to resort to vasectomy and continue to expand the family with adopted children: “We discussed this issue. We already have three boys, so I thought, “Oh, it would be great to have a girl.”
A vasectomy is a microsurgical procedure that renders men infertile, temporarily or permanently. Despite the fact that vasectomy is a real operation, it has become a fairly common method of contraception, considered safe and effective.
The operation does not affect a man’s sexual life at all: neither the libido nor the mechanics of the act of love change at all.
How does the operation take place? The surgeon makes two small punctures and takes out parts of the vas deferens – two tubes through which sperm “drain” from the testicles. Several millimeters of the ducts are removed, and their ends are treated with a laser. That’s all. After such a simple (most often performed under local anesthesia) and quick (20 to 40 minutes) intervention, sperm cells will no longer be able to enter the semen.
However, it must be remembered that for the first two to three months a man should still use contraception, since during this time the semen must be completely cleared of sperm. To make sure that fertility has stopped, it is necessary to take a spermogram.
Immediately after the procedure, the patient must not drive. For the first three days, some discomfort may be felt – compresses, a special bandage and pain relievers are used as prescribed by a doctor to reduce discomfort.
And, of course, it is worth remembering that male sterilization does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, so you should not lose your head and rush into all seriousness.
For example, Ronaldo resorted to such a decisive method of family planning. The former forward of Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team performed a vasectomy 10 years ago, when his fan suddenly told reporters that she was raising a 5-year-old son from an athlete. Then Ronaldo already had three children from different women.
“Yes, I had a vasectomy. If my girlfriend wants children, then there will be no problem – I froze enough sperm to create a whole football team, ”the athlete said.
American singer Kelly Clarkson insisted on a vasectomy for her husband. Both pregnancies were very difficult for her – terrible toxicosis, dehydration and other “joys of life.” At first, Kelly herself decided to ligate the fallopian tubes and was incredibly happy after the operation.
“I’m so glad I won’t get pregnant again. I already have wonderful children – so I’m happy to put an end to this matter, ”said the singer.
And soon Clarkson persuaded her husband Brandon Blackstock to have a vasectomy. He agreed to his wife’s request without hesitation.
True, now they are divorcing after seven years of marriage, but this is a completely different story.
Brandon Blackstock and Kelly Clarkson
Elton John also resorted to male sterilization (yes, we were as surprised as you). The famous composer and his husband David Furnish are raising two sons together, Zachary and Elijah, and no longer plan to increase their family.
Elton spoke about his surgery in passing during his annual Oscar party in 2016.
“No, I won’t have any more children,” John said. And David added: “Our family is complete.”
The former hardened bachelor George Clooney also did a vasectomy. The actor categorically did not want children and was sure that he would never change his mind. However, everything turned upside down when Amal appeared in his life.
Prevent and neutralize: famous men who decided to sterilize
Clooney fell in love, got married and realized that children, in general, were not such a bad idea.
Then he resorted to an operation called “reverse vasectomy” – the doctor reconnected the vas deferens.
Now George and Amal are raising adorable twins – Ella and Alexander, who turned three this summer.
The great and terrible Ozzy Osbourne also did a reverse vasectomy, but he was less fortunate than Clooney. Initially, Osborne went to sterilization at the insistence of his wife Sharon. Every time Ozzy came back from the tour, Sharon got pregnant, and after her third child, she got tired of it. But when she again wanted to become a mother and Ozzy underwent a reconstructive operation, it turned out that Sharon had fallopian tube disease, and she could not bear the child.
If after a vasectomy five years have passed and the threads were connected back, then the partner’s chance of pregnancy is about 55%. After 10 years – about 25%. So experts advise to be careful and act like Ronaldo – to have your sperm in stock.
It should be remembered that in Russia it is impossible to do a vasectomy simply because a man does not want children. For this, certain conditions must be met, which are spelled out in the Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Health Protection of Citizens in the Russian Federation.”
The patient must be or over 35 years old, or he must already have two children. The operation can also be carried out for medical reasons, but the list includes either complex and rather rare diseases, or severe forms of diseases.
Therefore, many Russian citizens who want to have an operation, but do not fall under the conditions specified by law, resort to the services of foreign clinics.
We asked an expert for their opinion on vasectomy as a method of contraception.
Doctor urologist-andrologist of the network of centers of reproduction and genetics “Nova Clinic”
“First, the term“ vasectomy ”cannot be considered correct, since“ ectomy ”involves removal. But we are not deleting anything. There are such types of operations as vasoresection (when the vas deferens is cut) and vasoligature (when the duct is ligated).
After vasoresection, it is possible to restore the patency of the duct only in 20% of cases. This is due to the fact that the lumen of the duct is very narrow: after healing, scar tissue forms, which again provokes obstruction. After the vasoligation, it is much easier to restore the patency of the vas deferens. But there are other problems here. The suture material is able to dissolve ahead of time. As a result, patency will be restored and conception may occur. An unwanted pregnancy occurs in 50% of cases.
After the above operations, the man has a rather pronounced discomfort, and such sensations can persist for a long time.
Therefore, I consider vasoresection and vasoligation to be not very convenient types of temporary sterilization.
…
More and more men around the world are choosing vasectomy as a method of contraception
1 of 9
When it comes to the need for temporary protection against unwanted pregnancies, I would recommend using a condom. In addition, women can use oral contraceptives. As far as male contraception is concerned, there are parenteral testosterone preparations, after the abolition of which the quality of seminal fluid is restored quite quickly.
Photo: Getty Images, Legion Media