Does a regular vasectomy hurt? Will I need to take pain medication?

Think of a vasectomy much in the same way as a dental appointment. The dentist has to numb the tooth just as the urologist has to numb the scrotal area and vas deferens. As a rule, once things are numbed with medicine, there is no pain. It is not unusual to need "a bit more medicine" or for the patient to feel the manipulation of the tissues. If you speak to enough people, you will find patients who say it was a piece of cake and others who say it was "terrible." For a truly pain-free procedure, some urologists have a surgery center where they use I.V. anesthesia.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

The standard of care for vasectomy is now a no-needle no-scalpel vasectomy. Most men tolerate this procedure with straight local anesthetic quite well. Most of the time, the level of pain is more in the "twinge" category. Men have different pain thresholds. Thus, if you know you have a low pain threshold, you may ask for an anti-anxiety medication and/or a pain medication prior to the procedure.

Published on Jul 11, 2012