- Men who chose vasectomy do it secretly because of the stigma associated with the procedure.
- A vasectomy can be done either under local anesthesia or conscious sedation.
Image: CHETI PRAXIDES
A survey showing the number of Kenyan men who have undergone vasectomy more than doubled in one year has stirred debate over the growing popularity of the procedure.
Though the number was still very low, Kenyans received the findings of the 2023 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) with amazement.
A lot of stigma is attached to the procedure. While men believe vasectomy will affect their sexual performance, women think the procedure will interfere with the fertility of their male partners.
According to the report, which examined the use of modern contraceptives in health facilities from 2018 to 2022, the number of men who chose vasectomy increased to 557 from 248 the previous year.
Only one per cent of Kenyan men have undergone a vasectomy, according to the Kenya Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society (KOGS).
“Out of 100 males, only one would accept vasectomy even after counselling and persuasion,” gynaecologist Kireki Omanwa said.
KOGS notes that men who chose vasectomy do it secretly because of the stigma associated with the procedure.
A vasectomy can be done either under local anaesthesia or conscious sedation.
If performed under local anaesthesia, pain medicine will be administered directly to the scrotum to numb the area. One will be awake for the procedure.
Regardless of the anaesthesia, the procedure is the same. The doctor will disconnect the vas deferens-the tubes that transport sperm from the testicles. After the surgery, sperm will not be able to leave the testicles.
According to Penn Medicine, a world-renowned academic medical centre in Philadelphia, US, the vasectomy recovery period is quite short.
The centre says return to work should be in two to three days, resuming normal exercise in seven days and having sex again in seven days.
“A vasectomy should not decrease your sex drive, nor should it negatively impact your ability to have an erection or orgasm,” the centre says on its website.
Penn Medicine notes that sterilization does not happen right away after a vasectomy.
“After the surgery, the sperm count in your ejaculate will begin to decrease gradually,” the centre says.
“You will need to continue to use other birth control methods until your semen sample comes back completely sperm-free and you get the okay from your physician. This usually takes about two months or 20 ejaculations.”
Penn Medicine further notes that whereas the procedure takes 20 minutes, a vasectomy reversal can take four to six hours
“It's a much more complicated, delicate procedure. And there is no guarantee that it will lead to pregnancy,” it says.
It further says there are other ways to obtain sperm than a vasectomy reversal.
“We can do a surgical sperm extraction in combination with in vitro fertilization,” says Puneet Masson, Assistant Professor of Urology and Director of the Male Fertility Program at Penn Fertility Care.
He says the procedures, known as testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA) have a high success rate of about 98 per cent.