Yesterday I had a vasectomy performed. The surgeron only found 1 vas deferens. Could a past hydrocele affect the vas deferens?

Often when there is no palpable vas deferens there is a missing kidney on the same side. In my career I have seen this about five times. Sometimes it is just hard to find a vas deferens and on a different day and different circumstances it is easy to find. Before that I'd recommend getting an analysis done in a few weeks and if there are no sperm then there is not another vas. The hydrocele would not have affected the vas deferens however the surgical changes related to that surgery may have made it hard to find. If on repeat semen analysis there are a lot of sperm then you may consider having anesthesia and a larger incision to accomplish the task.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Congenital absence of the vas deferens is a diagnosis that is made in men with the absence of both vas deferens when they present for infertility with no sperm in the their ejaculate—the urologist cannot feel either vas deferens, and although they are making sperm just fine, this genetic abnormality causes the vas deferens to not develop properly. Sperm retrieval with in vitro fertilization is the best option. If a man only has one vas deferens, this is again a genetic abnormality, but is only typically diagnosed at the time of vasectomy, since fertility is typically unaffected if the other side testicle has not had any issues. So, it could be that you are missing one vas deferens—in which case you may also be missing the kidney on the same side (the genetic abnormality also affects the development of the kidney and ureter). A hydrocele repair does not usually involve the vas deferens, but since you have had surgery on that side, the side more difficult to feel, perhaps scar tissue could affect the surgeons ability to feel the vas deferens. Even if the vas deferens had been cut inadvertently, it should still be able to be felt on examination. I would discuss with your urologist obtaining a renal ultrasound, and of course obtaining a post vasectomy semen analysis per their recommendation.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

It is unlikely that the previous hydrocele repair would lead to an inability to locate the vas deferens during the vasectomy. More likely, you have CUAVD (congenital unilateral absence of the vas deferens). This is associated with an increased risk of not having a kidney on the same side as you are missing the vas deferens. It can also be associated with being a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene. These are topics that you may want to bring up with your primary care physician.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

The hydrocele operation could indeed have made the vas more difficult to find, or possibly, not even there if it withered away. However, missing a single vas is not that uncommon and sometimes goes along with an absent kidney on that side. You should have a kidney ultrasound to make sure, if you do not already know, that you have kidneys on both sides. Only having one kidney is perfectly fine in terms of health and longevity, just nice to know.

Published on Jul 11, 2012