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Summary

Vasectomy is a type of surgery that prevents a man from being able to get a woman pregnant. It is a permanent form of birth control.

A vasectomy works by cutting the tubes that carry the sperm out of the testicles. The surgery usually takes no more than 30 minutes. Most men go home the same day. In most cases, recovery takes less than a week. Having a vasectomy does not affect your sex life.

It takes about three months before it is effective. Your doctor will test your semen to make sure that there are no sperm in it.

Vasectomies can sometimes be reversed, but not always. Having a vasectomy does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV/AIDS. Men who have had a vasectomy should still practice safe sex to avoid STDs.

NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Start Here

• Vasectomy (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Semen Analysis (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• What Are the Risks of Vasectomy? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• How Is a Vasectomy Done? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Images

• Vasectomy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

• Vasectomy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth: Vasectomy (National Center for Health Statistics)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Reproductive Sterilization (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vasectomy (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Vasectomy re-reversal: effectiveness and parameters associated with its success.
• Article: Vasectomy and male sexual dysfunction risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
• Article: Intention to use vasectomy and its associated factors among married men...
• Vasectomy -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• Find a Urologist (Urology Care Foundation)

Patient Handouts

• Vasectomy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish