Vasectomy is a form of male birth control that cuts the supply of sperm to your semen.

Sperm (the microscopic cells that join up with an egg to cause pregnancy) are made in your testicles. Sperm leaves the testicles through two tubes called the vas deferens, and mixes with other fluids to make semen. The sperm in your semen can cause pregnancy if it gets into a vagina. A vasectomy blocks or cuts each vas deferens tube, keeping sperm out of your semen.

Having this procedure done should not decrease your sex drive, nor should it negatively impact your ability to have an erection or orgasm. Only 5 to 10% of the ejaculate comes from the testicle. Thus, ejaculation will still look and feel the same. Just microscopically, there will be no sperm in the semen.

Vasectomies prevent pregnancy better than any other method of birth control but is important to keep in mind that it offers no protection from sexually transmitted infections.

The Procedure can be done at a doctor’s office or surgery center under local anesthesia, which means you’ll be awake and have medicine to numb the surgery area. It’s fairly quick, with a low risk of complications or side effects. Most men go home right away after the procedure and are fully heal in less than a week.

Sex can often be resumed within a week after the vasectomy, but it’s important to know that a vasectomy doesn’t work right away. After the vasectomy, new sperm won’t be able to get into the semen, but there will still be lots of sperm “in the pipeline” that takes time to clear. You should follow up with your urologist for semen analysis to check for sperm in your ejaculate. During this time, you should use other forms of birth control.

If you think you may want to have children one day, you should look into non-permanent forms of birth control before deciding to have a vasectomy as they are meant to be permanent, so they can’t always be undone. It’s sometimes possible to reverse a vasectomy, but there are no guarantees, your fertility may not come back. Vasectomy reversal is a complicated surgery, and it can be very expensive.

References:

1.https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/vasectomy/about/pac-20384580#:~:text=Vasectomy%20is%20a%20form%20of,outpatient%20setting%20under%20local%20anesthesia.
2.https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/vasectomy.
3.https://www.urologyhealth.org/urology-a-z/v/vasectomy.