A vasectomy is considered a permanent male form of birth control. Even so, there may come a time when a man wants to reverse his vasectomy so he can have another (or a first) child. This is especially true today when many young men are getting vasectomies prior to having any children at all, a practice that has received a lot of negative publicity over recent years. Conceiving after vasectomy reversal can be tricky, but it certainly can be done.

According to American Association of Urology, one of the key factors in conception after a vasectomy reversal has to do with the amount of time that has passed since the vasectomy was performed. Over long periods of time, blockages and scar tissue can develop as well as the development of anti-bodies that makes men allergic to their own sperm, which can make conception after a reversal downright difficult or impossible. The key window for opportunity is less than 10 years after the initial procedure.

It is also important to note that a reversal is much more surgery difficult than the initial vasectomy. In fact it is most often done under anesthesia and can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to perform. Even with the surgery, few doctors will guarantee fertility afterwards. Overall the fertility rate after a vasectomy reversal is around 50%, meaning that half of the men are able to conceive after the reversal procedure. After 10 years, this number drops to around 30%.  Sometimes the reasons for infertility have nothing to do with the vasectomy, and are instead related to an underlying fertility problem that the man unknowingly had prior to his vasectomy.

Before the man in your life gets a reversal, it is advised that he get tested to make sure that he does not have a build-up of sperm anti-bodies. If sperm antibodies exist, a vasectomy reversal has a very slim chance of a man gaining his fertility back. In this case, looking to other forms of fertility treatments may be advised.

Additionally, as with any form of surgery – there are risks associated with a vasectomy reversal that can lead to permanent damage. If you and your partner are considering a vasectomy reversal, it is in your best interest to do your research and formulate your plan of action based on the advice of more than one doctor.

Do you know anyone who (or have you) has had success conceiving after a vasectomy reversal?

Written By Stef, Mom of 4 @Momspirational

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2013. All rights reserved.

Nowadays, many women are driven by their careers that they delay their family life. Due to this trend, a leading surgeon advises young women to freeze small selections of their ovaries to avoid fertility problems when they choose to start a family in their 30s. This technique involves surgical removal of thin slivers of ovaries that contains thousands of eggs to be frozen indefinitely.

Costing roughly £4,000 / $6,000 USD this technique can offer a 40-year old woman the same level of fertility as someone half her age by removing a one-millimetre thin graft. The pioneer surgeon of the whole ovary transplant was carried out by Dr Sherman Silber in 2007. He assures that the procedure has no effect on the chance of naturally conception if the woman chose to conceive in the meantime. At present, Dr Sherman Silber and his team at St Louis Missouri has removed ovarian grafts from approximately 140 women.   

What is the main purpose of this technique?

The procedure was primarily designed to preserve the fertility of women who had to undergo cancer treatment. However, Dr Silber noted that many women were coming for the sole purpose of delaying their motherhood.

Over 60 women have already undergone ovarian grafts in order to fit in with their lifestyle. Some of them came at ages between 35 and 38 after they have broken up with their boyfriends of 8 to 10 years and are worried about conceiving in the future. Dr Silber encourages healthy women in their 20’s to consider this half-hour operation. They should think about it earlier when they have more healthy egg cells. Then, they can relax and not worry to have a baby when they desire so at 40.

IVF versus Ovarian Graft

The procedure could possibly replace In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) since the main cause of infertility among women over thirty years old was declining egg quality. These women do not need IVF after the treatment. The price of Ovarian Graft is also much less expensive than the cost that you will go through in numerous cycles of IVF.

Results of the Procedure

Although the number of ovarian grafts used by women to become pregnant is small, the clinic has already returned grafts to 11 women who have given birth to 12 babies. 23 babies have been born as a result of grafts worldwide across 7 clinics. 14 were born as products of frozen graft transplants, while 9 are from fresh grafts of identical sister donors.     

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2013. All rights reserved.