Pictures of post vasectomy scars

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One of the frequently asked questions on this site is "My new partner says he has had a vasectomy and we don't need to use a condom. How do I know if he's telling me the truth?". Well, the answer has to be that the only thing that proves you are sterile or not is a properly analyzed semen sample. Often the poster of this question is asking to know if there is any physical method of telling if a man has had a vasectomy just by looking for scars. The answer to this question is "probably not".

The photographs below show what vasectomy scars look like some years after the procedure. We have two contributors so far to this page, and two slightly different procedure types. The first two pictures show a conventional bilateral scalpel vasectomy, and the third picture shows healing after a conventional vasectomy with single midline incision.

Our first contributor had a traditional scalpel vasectomy with bilateral incisions, and the incisions were stitched using sutures. The photo's were taken about a decade years after the vasectomy. For the purposes of these photo's the hair has been shaved, and to accentuate the scar the skin has been stretched. In addition, there is a flash going off in close proximity to the scar. I'm told by the contributor that under normal conditions the scars aren't visible because of hair, but you might be able to see them if you happen to know where they are, and the light is just right.

click on the photo's for an enlarged image.

	Right side. The incision is high up, quite close to the penis. The scar tissue is slightly raised texture, and is lighter in color than the rest if the skin. It is visible center of the picture, about a third of the way down you look close enough.
	Left side. On the left side (in this individual's case) the incision is lower. Again, the scar tissue is slightly raised and whiter then the rest of the skin.

Our second contributor had a conventional vasectomy, and one midline incision on the raphe. The raphe is the continuous ridge of tissue that runs down the penis, and round the midline of the scrotum. The most obvious evidence of the vasectomy is the absence of the raphe in a small section just below the base of the penis. The contributor informs me that the reason the scar appears to be high up is because he was pulling the skin upwards to reveal the area more clearly for the purpose of the photo. It took a couple of emails to sort out where exactly the wound was, so that does demonstrate how difficult it is to see the scars! The photo's were taken 7 years after the vasectomy.

The boxed area shows the site of the incision. Note that a small section of the raphe is missing. This is the incision site. It can be seen slightly clearer if you click on the picture for a larger version of the image.

Many thanks to our contributors for submitting these pictures and allowing us to use them. If you are having a vasectomy, please consider the idea of taking some pictures during your recovery for us to post, as we feel that it will help men know what is, and isn't normal. We aren't looking for just extreme bruising and swelling picture as seen on some pages of this section, but also pictures of straightforward vasectomy with normal recovery. As with the above pictures, complete anonymity is guaranteed, and for the purposes of taste and decency, photo's will be edited to be shown in a clinical context. If you are happy to participate, please visit the section index page for photographer's tips and the email address to send your pictures to.

Similar pages:-

Dr. Karpman's No-Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) Technique using two incisions
Photo's of normal healing of vasectomy
More photo's of normal healing of vasectomy
Pictures of normal vasectomy recovery with minor infection
Healing of a no scalpel vasectomy procedure