Wednesday, April 12th, 2006...7:26 pm
Vasectomy reversal in the news
Newsday.com carried a story yesterday on vasectomy reversal, in which they gave some interesting statistics. They actually contradict themselves in one case where they give two different numbers. In one place they say 5% of men with vasectomies will ultimately undergo a reversal; in another place they say 7%. Part of the article deals with how the interval between vasectomy and vasectomy reversal impacts the success rate of the surgery:
- If its been less than three years, the patency rate (sperm in the ejaculate) is 97%; the pregnancy rate is 76%.
- If its been three to eight years, the patency rate drops to 88% and the pregnancy rate to 53%.
- If 9 to 14 years have elapsed since the vasectomy, the rate drops to 79% patency and 44% pregnancy.
- More than 15 years? There is a 71% patency rate and only a 30% chance of pregnancy.
Now before others of you in that last category (like me) become discouraged, let me remind you that there are lots of other factors. Have you sired a child before? Has your wife previously gotten pregnant? How old is your wife? All of these factor into the odds of success.
Related post:
Technorati tags: Vasectomy reversal
6 Comments
April 13th, 2006 at 7:08 am
And, let us put God into the equation too! He is miraculous and can do anything! Godspeed! We are believing for a miracle!
April 13th, 2006 at 7:44 am
Thanks for the well wishes. We are certainly hoping for success.
August 10th, 2007 at 1:04 am
MY hubby has produced antibodies against his reversal done 2 years ago.Is there medication he can take to sort this out ?
taniag@orion-hotels.co.za
August 10th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Tania,
They used to use corticosteroids, but I don’t think this is done anymore due to severe side effects (hip degeneration). Couples with this problem on the male side typically turn to IVF to conceive. Here’s more info…
http://www.sharedjourney.com/articles/asperm.html
I think your doctor is the best person to discuss this with.
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:45 am
HI….Love your site. My partner and I are going through the same experience and im booked in for reversal on monday 28th jan. its been only 18months since my original vasectomy but my doctor has quoted a 30% chance of pregnancy. is he just playing safe…your figures look much more promising.
cheers
Rufus
January 22nd, 2008 at 6:58 am
Thanks Rufus. Your doc certainly sounds conservative. I think I’d rather have that than someone who quotes a 98% success rate without telling you that it’s not the pregnancy rate they are referring to.
BTW, remember that the average time to conception following VR is one year.
Leave a Reply