I had a vasectomy—cut and burned. The doctor told me that he could only burn three parts of the vas and one was left unburned. Is this OK?

The doctor informed me during the procedure that he cut the vas, burned one end and the other part of the vas slipped back into the testicle but he did not have a chance to burn it. Is this okay as far as infection, or does it limit the effectiveness of the vasectomy procedure?

Answers from doctors (1)


More About Doctor John C. McHugh, MD

Published on Jan 04, 2018

There is no issue regarding infection and probably no issue regarding the success rate. I'd probably recommend abstaining for a longer period than normal, say two weeks. There should be scarring on the testicle end and of course the distal end is occluded. Some techniques purposely are performed this way to diminish the back pressure to the testicle thinking there will be less pain and it is a better situation if ever a reversal is done. (Open ended vasectomy.)

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

There is no issue regarding infection and probably no issue regarding the success rate. I'd probably recommend abstaining for a longer period than normal, say two weeks. There should be scarring on the testicle end and of course the distal end is occluded. Some techniques purposely are performed this way to diminish the back pressure to the testicle thinking there will be less pain and it is a better situation if ever a reversal is done. (Open ended vasectomy.)

Published on Jul 11, 2012


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