Is It Easy to Get a Vasectomy
Atlanta-based comedian Joe Pettis, 39, has been joking about his vasectomy—and the fact his then-girlfriend's mom footed the bill for it—for the past 14 years. Almost always, the audience met Pettis' bits about snips with big laughs—and led plenty of fans approach him after the show. He says it's "mostly other guys who had also gone through with the procedure." But it's not always men—occasionally fans of his vasectomy jokes included women.
This makes a certain amount of sense: contraception has been something for heterosexual couples to worry about for thousands of years, and it seems the burden of getting it started and keeping it up—in addition to the long list of common side effects—tends to fall squarely on the woman. Sure, there are condoms, but fumbling around for them in the moment is a drag for both parties, and in no scenario does condom use risk the man wearing them with developing hypertension, mental illness, cancer, stroke, or any of the other conditions appearing on the female contraception side-effect Bingo card.
That leaves one option for men who are done having children or never wanted them in the first place: a vasectomy, a now-routine surgery during which a doctor cuts and seals a man's tubes that carry sperm. Medicare recognized vasectomies in 1969, making the procedure more mainstream, and as of 2020, about 500,000 men have gotten snipped in the United States, according to Cleveland Clinic. The surgery is 99.9% effective in preventing conception, and while it's very often reversible, it's generally considered a permanent fix.
Who gets a vasectomy?
When James*—barely 20 and kid-free—set out to get a vasectomy in 2000 in California, it wasn't easy. It took chatting with nine urologists and a monthlong waiting period, as well as a mandatory class. (That's three times longer than the current waiting period to buy a gun in the state.)
He's not the only guy without children to get the surgery. Jordan, 43, had just had a three-year relationship end when he scheduled his vasectomy at 38. His ex-girlfriend was on the pill much of their time together and when she got off it, Jordan felt really paranoid about an unplanned pregnancy and how, if it happened, "it wasn't me that was gonna have to get the abortion or take the Plan B," he says, "and that didn't sit well with me." (Randomly catching a Joe Pettis set and hearing the comic's casual attitude was also "pretty inspiring" to make an appointment.)
Pettis himself says simply that "I personally never wanted to produce my own offspring." He went under the knife at 25, when he and his then-girlfriend didn't have babies on the brain. Pettis didn't lean too hard on the possibility of an eventual reversal, saying if he ever changed his mind that he'd start with adoption.
But most men get the procedure done after they and their partner churned out some babies and decided they were done. 70-year-old Nathan, a physician in Tennessee, got snipped after his third child was born in 1986. Since he and his wife agreed they were done after Kid No. 3, says "there was no debate," he says. "I felt it was my responsibility to do this," he says. "My wife had borne three children and the side effects of oral contraceptives. It was up to me to take care of this for us." Working in the medical field himself, Nathan says he thinks he was less concerned about the procedure than perhaps other men might have been in the mid-'80s.
Portland, Oregon-based student and father of two, Lee, 44, has a similar story. For him and his wife, it was a no-brainer. "We have absolutely spent more time trying to decide on a Friday night movie rental than we did discussing it and coming to an agreement," he says.
What is the procedure like?
Most doctors—usually urologists, but also some general practitioners—performing the procedure use local anesthesia applied directly to the scrotum. The conventional method dictates that a doctor makes a small incision once the area is numb and finds and snips the sperm-carrying tube called vas deferens. The doctor cauterizes the tube closed, stuffs it back into the scrotum, and stitches or glues the area closed. The entire process takes between 10 and 30 minutes, and it's an outpatient procedure—you get to go right home after. (A newer, scalpel-free approach also exists, boasting the promise of a speedier recovery.)
"Overall, it was a blast." Jordan says. "The doc gave me one Valium to take beforehand." In an effort to further de-stigmatize the procedure, Jordan live streamed his entire experience on Facebook. "One viewer described it as 'simultaneously the most boring and horrifying thing' he'd ever seen," he says.
And while general recovery guidelines are to take it very easy for 24 hours and slowly get back to activities in the next two or three days, after his vasectomy, Nathan says he simply walked—"albeit carefully"—from the urology clinic back to his wing of the hospital and got back to work. Los Angeles-based video editor Kyle, 36, got his snip in March 2017 and met friends for $1 oysters right after.
Post-snip life
In recovery, Lee experienced soreness, but seems to more vividly recall the luxury of a pain medication bubble during which he housed Thai takeout and the first four seasons of "The Wire."
Pettis was a student at the time, and scheduled his vasectomy at the start Thanksgiving break in case he needed the time off to recover. He spent three days in bed watching movies and, by Thanksgiving Day, he was "back up and walking." Since getting the surgery and when jumping back into the dating pool, Pettis says his snip won him points with women. "I think [unplanned pregnancy] was just one less thing they have to worry about," he adds.
Kid-free Kyle encountered similar delight. "My current girlfriend is thrilled that [contraception] is not even a concern and that she didn't have to do anything when we got into the relationship." He adds that he spent his recovery stoned and reclined.
No one GQ spoke to for this piece got their vasectomy reversed, but James has since had kids in Brooklyn, where he now lives. He didn't get a botched job almost 22 years ago: James got a microscopic testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE), during which a doctor retrieves sperm from testicles with a syringe. It's an expensive procedure (James says his cost around $7000) that takes about 15 minutes. From there, doctors used Jame's retrieved sperm to get his wife pregnant via IVF—twice.
"[We] got pregnant on our first try, and actually are pregnant again on our second try," James says.
He and his wife didn't seriously consider attempting vasectomy reversal. After all, the Mayo Clinic says "the longer it has been, the less likely it is that the reversal will work," noting, too, that although nearly all vasectomies can be undone, it's impossible to guarantee conception in the aftermath. Because of this—as well as the price of a micro-TESE in addition to IVF costs—doctors urge men considering getting a vasectomy to think of it as permanent.
Thinking about getting a vasectomy yourself?
Kevin, a real estate developer in the American South, says he's always open about his vasectomy, "partially because other men were very open and candid about it with me," adding that he's surprised the topic still doesn't come up organically very often. "My advice to anyone considering doing it is that if you're in a long-term relationship, not only can it be the responsible thing—but it can be an act of love, for your partner and the children that you may have now."
Rick, a researcher in his mid-30s in New York City agrees. "Frankly, I think men should discuss it more, and understand that they also have a role to play in family planning, and a vasectomy is a valid option," Rick says. "As for advice for anyone who's curious about getting a vasectomy, I'd say to really think it through. People always say it's reversible, but [there's] no guarantee. ... Also, if you currently have a long-term partner, make sure you're on the same page, or be prepared to end the relationship so you don't deprive your partner of something profoundly significant like having a child."
Pettis stresses how the temporary discomfort is worth the long-term results. "I think a lot of guys worry about the pain, and the pain was nothing," he says. "I've stubbed my toe and it felt worse than any of the pain I felt in the vasectomy."
*Some names have been changed.
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Source: https://www.gq.com/story/what-its-actually-like-to-get-a-vasectomy
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