No Scalpel Procedure

No-Scalpel Vasectomy

No-Scalpel Vasectomy is the most reliable form of contraception available today. It is a minor surgical procedure with a very quick recovery time. The total cost, including the semen samples, is €550. What should you expect from a no-needle no-scalpel vasectomy?

  • Gentle anaesthesia, almost painless with no needles
  • No stitches
  • Quicker recovery time than a traditional vasectomy
  • More comfortable procedure
  • Return to work the next day (some men go back to work on the same day)

The small opening in the skin is made with a pointed haemostat and the skin is spread, rather than cut with a scalpel, to give an opening approximately 1cm in length. Since blood vessels in the skin are spread apart rather than cut, bleeding is less than when a scalpel is used, no stitches are required, and the opening is usually sealed closed (often barely visible) by the next day.

The principal difference with a no-scalpel vasectomy versus a traditional vasectomy is how we access the vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm. In a traditional vasectomy 2 cuts are made, one on each side of the scrotum. Bleeding is more likely and it often requires stitches to close the cuts or to control the bleeding. So a no-scalpel vasectomy is less invasive, in simple terms its “keyhole” surgery for a vasectomy. What we do to the vas deferens when they access them through the skin is the same and a number of techniques exist.

Once each vas tube is lifted through the small skin opening, we cauterise the inside of the “prostatic” end of the vas, this is the part on top . We then divide the vas, or essentially cut it in the middle and the two ends of the vas are placed out of alignment with each other and kept from re-joining by applying a small titanium clip to the tissue surrounding the vas on one side only so that one end stays inside the sheath, the other outside. The divided ends are then placed back in the scrotum and no sutures are required.

We perform an open-ended vasectomy and do not clip the lower (testicular) end of the vas as doing so may cause a sense of congestion or pressure and may be linked to long term discomfort.

No Scalpel Vasectomy

 

What is the difference between a No-Scalpel Vasectomy and a traditional Vasectomy?

The quick answer to this is that it the equivalent of keyhole surgery for a vasectomy.
Both methods are equally effective at preventing pregnancies and they are just different ways of gaining access to the vas deferens. A No-Scalpel method is minimally invasive and as such it is recommended as the gold standard by the American Urology Association.

In a traditional vasectomy two 1″ incisions are needed, one on each side and sometimes sutures are used to close the wound. With a no-scalpel vasectomy only one small opening is made with no stitches necessary.

What happens when the tubes are delivered through the incisions, either one small opening from a no-scalpel vasectomy or two slightly larger incisions from a traditional vasectomy, is essentially very similar. Their are different ways to divide the vas deferens and to tie or clip them but they all fundamentally provide the same amount of contraception.

The other big difference is the recovery time and any potential complications, especially bleeding. Recovery is quicker and bleeding is much less likely with a no-scalpel vasectomy.

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