- It is important to remember that a vasectomy will not become effective right away. According to FamilyDoctor.org, you will probably need to ejaculate between 15 and 20 times before all the residual semen has been cleared from the vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm to the urethra. To verify that your vasectomy worked, your doctor will need to test samples of your semen after the vasectomy; you will not be considered sterile until you have two sperm-free samples. In the meantime, you will need to use another method of birth control to prevent pregnancy.
- According to Planned Parenthood, in about one out of 1,000 cases a man's tubes manage to grow back together after a vasectomy. If this occurs, you may be able to make your partner pregnant.
- Sometimes a man who has had a vasectomy changes his mind about having children. According to UrologyHealth.org, most vasectomies can be reversed. In a vasectomy reversal, a surgeon will either reconnect the severed vas deferens to each other or will connect the upper end of the vas deferens to the epididymis, the organ where sperm matures. Both procedures have nearly the same success rates.
- According to the Mayo Clinic, about half of couples are able to achieve pregnancy within two years of having a vasectomy reversal. In successful reversals, sperm usually return to semen within a few months; for some procedures, however, it may take up to 15 months for sperm to reappear.
- As UrologyHealth.org states, pregnancy is more likely if the amount of time between the vasectomy and the vasectomy reversal is relatively short. According to the Mayo Clinic, pregnancy is also more likely if the female partner does not have any fertility problems of her own.
- If your vasectomy reversal fails, you may want to try a second reversal, although as UrologyHealth.org notes, success rates are usually eight to 10 percent lower for second reversals. You might also consider in vitro fertilization, using either frozen sperm or sperm obtained from your testicle or epididymis. In women under the age of 37, such IVF treatments have a 30 to 35 percent success rate. Success rates are much lower for older women.
