My husband had a vasectomy about 18 1/2 yrs ago. Any chance of the vas growing back naturally? He's 49.

The reason I ask is cause I am late on my period and we have been together for 17 yrs and have never had any problems.

Answers from doctors (2)


More About Doctor John C. McHugh, MD

Published on Apr 29, 2017

In general the likelihood of a vasectomy reconnecting is approximately one in two thousand. The longer the time from the vasectomy the less likely this will occur. It is however very easy to check by having your husband submit a semen specimen to your local hospital for a semen analysis, having your urologist check it in his office under a microscope or getting a kit from spermcheck.com. This kit is much like a pregnancy test but for checking for the presence or absence of sperm thus saving the time and expense of the other options. My humble opinion is that the probability is that the vasectomy is still intact.

Answered by John C. McHugh, MD (View Profile)

In general the likelihood of a vasectomy reconnecting is approximately one in two thousand. The longer the time from the vasectomy the less likely this will occur. It is however very easy to check by having your husband submit a semen specimen to your local hospital for a semen analysis, having your urologist check it in his office under a microscope or getting a kit from spermcheck.com. This kit is much like a pregnancy test but for checking for the presence or absence of sperm thus saving the time and expense of the other options. My humble opinion is that the probability is that the vasectomy is still intact.

Published on Jul 11, 2012


Steven K. Sterzer, MD

Published on Mar 01, 2017

It certainly can happen. The longest time from vasectomy to failure in my experience is 16 years. Ask your doctor if he/she is willing to check his semen under a microscope to see if sperm are present.

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Answered by Steven K. Sterzer, MD

It certainly can happen. The longest time from vasectomy to failure in my experience is 16 years. Ask your doctor if he/she is willing to check his semen under a microscope to see if sperm are present.

Published on Jul 11, 2012


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