Post Vasectomy Semen Analysis (PVSA) - Although there are male contraceptive “pills” in development, a vasectomy is the most common permanent method of contraception available to most men today. On an annual basis, there are approximately 600,000 vasectomies performed in the US and over 4 million world-wide, and it is estimated that approximately 40 to 60 million men have undergone the procedure throughout the world. However, a recent study from the Journal of Urology (July, 2005), indicates that there exists much variability in the criteria and protocols used to determine azoospermia following a vasectomy procedure.
Failure to follow up with your doctor and the risk of recanalization
There is one aspect of a vasectomy that almost all physicians and their male patients agree on. Men do not appreciate the indignity that accompanies a PVSA and as a result, many men never return to their physician for their confirmatory tests. As a result, recanalization rates are as high as 4% in certain countries and almost everyone anecdotally has either heard or knows of a couple that has had a child following a vasectomy procedure. The primary reason for vasectomy failure itself is recanalization; when the cut ends of the vas deferens spontaneously reconnect.
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