Vasectomies: Cash Under the Mattress
Robert Latkany, MDMarch 25, 2009
The Cleveland Clinic has seen a 50% increase in scheduled vasectomies, according to a report on CNN.com. The uptick appears to be related to the beginning of the troubled economy; perhaps the men who chose vasectomy fear the additional financial burden that a child entails, or perhaps they were squeezing in the procedure before their health insurance disappeared with their job.
Vasectomy is an effective means of birth control; according to a report in the journal Contraception, only about 1 pregnancy results for every 1000 vasectomies, with most occurring in the immediate post-vasectomy period, before washout of the remaining sperm. Vasectomies are also an extremely cost-effective means of birth control, second only to intrauterine devices, according to Trussel et al.
What will happen when President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan takes hold and an economic recovery seems likely? Will men with deeper pockets have a change of heart? Will more vasectomy reversals be sought? Although a vasectomy should be considered permanent, it can occasionally be reversed. About 72% of patients undergoing vasectomy reversal will get their female partners pregnant, according to a study by Hinz et al. In this study, the average age of the men was 40, while the average age of the female partner was 31. Having motile sperm at the time of surgical reversal and performing the reversal surgery within 8 years of the vasectomy will lead to faster tubular patency, according to Yang et al.
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