From Doug:-
Hello. I think the website is an excellent source of information, but had 2 quick questions.
I had my vas two days ago. The whole procedure was pretty easy and painless (despite being ‘tight’ from nervousness, which soon went away halfway through the first side). Anyway, I was surprised that neither the surgeon nor accompanying nurse wore a face mask. Is the risk of infection so low during the procedure that wearing a mask is unnecessary?
I had to ditch my jock strap too. the thing was strangling me and creating more pain and discomfort than it is supposed to be helping! What exactly is the point to wearing the jock? Is it to allow the scrotum to heal or do the vas cuts heal better with everything compressed?
I also had a question on the titanium clips. It seems odd that they place them on the vas, then just let everything slide back in. isn’t there a risk that those clips might bump up against a teste or something?
The purpose of wearing masks during any surgical procedure is as much for the protection of the surgeon from bodily fluids as it is for the patient. That said, I don’t know of any studies that have shown that when surgeons wear a mask during the vasectomy procedure that the risk of infection is lower than if they didn’t wear a mask. The infection rate during vasectomy procedures is incredibly low to begin with (1%) and, therefore, most surgeons wear a mask based on their own preferences.
Tight fitting underwear or a scrotal support are encouraged for use immediately after the vasectomy procedure for patient comfort and to minimize any hematoma formation. Minimizing the movement of the testes and scrotum after the procedure decreases patient discomfort. Compression of the scrotum and surgical site can help reduce swelling and/or hematoma formation after the procedure. The scrotum has a large potential space and any slight ooze can accumulate into a lot of fluid if left unopposed. A golden rule in medicine is that all bleeding stops with direct pressure to the bleeding site.
The vasectomy procedure is performed on the vas deferens in the spermatic cord located above the testicle. Theoretically, anything can happen, but practically we do not get any complaints from patients that they feel the clips rubbing or touching other structures in the scrotum. Patients have reported that they can palpated the clips through the scrotal wall if they poke around down there. Titanium clips have been used extensively by vasectomy surgeons for many years because of their effectiveness, reliability and lack of side effects.
Dr. Karpman’s website