Ask the Doctor

From John:- Thank you for reading my email. I am thinking of having a vasectomy because my wife had toxemia on her first birth and the Dr said it there is a high chance she could get it again. Since I am lucky to still have her and our daughter I sure don’t want to [...]

From Joseph:- In recent years I have become increasingly aware of the phenomenon of feeling less strong, healthy, alert, (generally depleted) etc., following ejaculation. I have taken to refraining from ejaculation before important activities, athletic events, or when feeling run down and generally trying to limit the frequency of ejaculation. In this respect I often [...]

From Alison:- Please could you tell my husband and myself if having a vasectomy can cause impotence in later life? Impotence is defined as the inability to achieve or maintain an erection of sufficient quality for sexual intercourse. This is NOT affected by vasectomy. Vasectomy only changes the fertility (or sterility) status of a man [...]

From Wanda in IL:- My husband got a vasectomy 8 years ago. A year after the surgery I noticed that his right testicle is a lot larger than the left. Is this something to be alarmed about? He has had a check up since, and nothing abnormal was found. A swollen testicle immediately after a [...]

From Tim in Canada:- I’m 44 years old. Long story short, I’ve seen numerous doctors over the years but just recently got serious about getting a vasectomy. After seeing a doctor who specializes in NSV open-ended (which is what my research said to me I should get), he immediately declined because of my “abnormal” genitalia [...]

From Kirsten:- Is there a way for a female to tell if a man has had a vasectomy? Hi Kirsten. As webmaster I’m going to answer this one – I think we already cover it in the FAQ. However, it’s a good question, and one I can answer from personal experience. The only way to [...]

From Jason, Somerset, England:- This might be a dumb question, but it’s something that I’m worried about. I’m going to have a vasectomy quite soon, and my work mates have been winding me up something chronic about getting an erection during the procedure. I’m easily embarrassed unfortunately. I know my mates are wind-up merchants, and [...]

From Julie, San Francisco:- Hi, I’d like to have a baby with my husband, but he’s had a vasectomy. The story is that we’ve both got kids from previous marriages, he’s 37 and I’m 31. He had the vasectomy about 7 years ago. I’ve been reading up on this, and know there are two ways [...]

From Neil, NYC:- I know there are two ways of cutting into the scrotum. In your personal opinion, are there advantages or disadvantages to either way? Vasectomy can be performed through two separate incisions (one over each vas deferens) or through a single incision in the midline. The decision as to which technique your surgeon [...]

From Mark, Alabama:- I’ve had the results of my sperm test back, and they have asked for another one in a few weeks time because of “Persistent non-motile sperm”. Does this mean the vasectomy has failed? After the vasectomy, sperm will still remain in the seminal vesicles and segment of vas deferens downstream from the [...]