Conference quark::mennotes-v1

    God bless em.  I don't honestly know if I could ever recover
    losing one of our two kids.  Sometimes they make you want to
    scream, but still...
    
    Anyway, to the point...  Reversal is a very difficult, chancy process.
    When I had my Vasectomy three+ years ago, my surgeon was very thurough
    in explaining just about every detail of the processes in a
    counceltaion meeting prior to the surgery.  According to the statistics
    of three+ years ago, the chances I recall were less than 50% of
    it even working, and slimmer still, of it lasting for any given length
    of time.  Also, the method is consider major surgery, and recovery
    is a long, delicate (read sometimes painful) process .
    
    One of the things that makes me think this is so, is that my surgeon
    went thru great pains to make sure we understood what was involved,
    (he wouldn't even talk to me until I agreed to counceltaion with
    both of us and him) and what the risks were, and what the reversal
    processes was.  He stated at that time that he'd never done a reversal,
    and out and out refused to attempt one due to the high failure rate
    of this operation.
    
    There are other ways, however, for these two to have another child,
    so a reversal of the vasectomy is NOT the only route for them to
    take.  They should consult a surgeon or gynogoligist before making
    any snap decisons.
    
    /ray

I don't know if this will be helpful or not, but
there's a micro-surgeon in St. Louis who does this
surgery on a daily basis with a good success rate.
Unfortunately, he is so successful that he has a long
waiting list. But for someone willing to wait for 6 months
or so for surgery, he'd be a good person to try.

Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, although Silber
comes to mind.(I also don't remember the name of the clinic he's
associated with.)
However, he's written two books about these type of issues.
So, to find out his name, go to your public library and 
look for the books "How to Get Pregnant" and "How _Not_ to
Get Pregnant". They certainly have his name, and I believe
might also mention his clinic's name.

If your library doesn't have it, talk to the librarian about
obtaining the book through inter-library loan. Most libraries
do participate in such programs and can find you any book you want.
Another alternative is to go to a bookstore, find "How to Get Pregnant"
in "Books in Print" and have the bookstaore special order it for
you--it's probably a good book to have for someone going through
this problem, anyway.

    I don't know, this sounds too simple
    
    I don't know squat about certain aspects of biology, but this seems
    to make sense to me.  Couldn't your brother have a quantity of sperm
    removed surgicaly (or hypodermically) and used for artificial
    insemination?
    
    Seems to me that this could have a very high success rate.  Or have
    I missed some basic point...
    
    Just thinkin' out loud...
    jim
    

    The sperm would not be mature in that case. Sperm mature as they
    travel from the gonads thru the vas deferens to the prostate. This
    takes a couple weeks (I can't remember exactly how long but it's
    between 1 and 4 weeks). I think the sperm would be lacking the protein
    sheath which allows them to penetrate the ovum. Sorry, good idea,
    not technically possible.
    
    Tamzen

    Has anyone been through the reversal procedure?  If so, would you
    be interested in sharing(not necessarily in detail) the experience.
    Also, if it was done in the Colorado Springs area, could you give
    the name of the Dr. if you'd recommend him/her.
    Thanks!!

    
    After the birth of my second child, five years ago, my wife and
    I decided vasectomy was indeed the best method of birth control.
    I had no problems with the proceedure or the recovery. We realized
    the permanent nature of a vas and have been happily having sex
    ever since...
    
    I am now considering reversal after the loss of my son. Has 
    anyone had a more recent experience with the reversal process
    than those discussed over a year ago? 
    
    I'm in the Colorado Springs area.
    
                                             RRH
      
    

   A friend of mine is a Microsurgeon, albeit working in Sydney, Australia. He
   says that Vasectomies are quite easily reversed if done properly in the
   first place. i.e. if sufficient length of Vas is left to re-connect etc..
   
   Unfortunately, a lot of doctors tend not to think of the need for
   "re-connection" when doing a vasectomy...
   
   q
   

    Had a Vasectomy in 1979, and had that reversed in 1986, roughly
    seven years later (give or take a couple of months).
    
    1. The Procedure isn't done in your friendly neighborhood
       doctors office.
    2. It is done in a Hospital Surgical Unit. While Vasectomies
       usually are you and the Doctor, my reversal seemed to be
       a regular Cecil B. DeMille Production with a cast of thousands!
    3. I don't think the discomfort (read pain) was all that different
       from the Vasectomy itself. Had to be REAL careful and wear the
       supporter for a longer period of time though.
    4. Expense was for the most part covered by Health Insurance,
       I may've had to pay something like a couple of hundred dollars
       but not more than that (remember we're talking 1986 here).
    5. Success? Well, the surgeon gave us a 40% chance of having 
       children AFTER a year, nothing until then. My youngest
       was conceived less than three months after the reversal,
       so the odds are just that, only odds. 
    6. Naturally, Vasectomy, from my completely selfish point of
       view, is no longer a Birth Control option in our house.
       Sorry guys but I have no desire to go through any of that
       a third time. 
    7. This note is a bit old, but I figured perhaps someone, like
       myself, might be looking into the note in general to see
       what info it contained.
    
    J
    

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				Steve






    I have a specific question about this procedure, which
    is really addressed to anyone who has undergone it.
    
    I would like to know whether the reversal, if it works,
    is permanent.  I have been told by some friends, who have
    read about it, that sometimes it only works for 12-18
    months and then no longer.  Some issue with scarring
    problems.
    
    The surgeon I have spoken with assures me that if it
    works, it's there for good.  I will be checking for
    another opinion, cause it's WAY too expensive to risk
    doing and then having fail subsequently.
    
    Anyone out there offer any more on this?  Please, I
    would rather specifics, instead of "Well, I read..."
    sort of stuff.