The results of vasectomy reversal are reported as two
percentages. The first is patency rate; that means the
percentage of men who have the return of sperm in the ejaculate
after reversal. This means that the operation was technically
successful. The second statistic reported is the pregnancy rate.
The pregnancy rate is always lower than the patency rate because
many more factors play a role in getting pregnant other that the
return of sperm in the ejaculate. The results of microsurgical
vasovasostomy from the Vasovasostomy Study Group data are >90%
patency if sperm were present in the vasal fluid at the time of
surgery and pregnancy rates up to 76%. This is the study quoted
by most surgeons when asked about results of vasectomy reversal.
There are too many variables to give honest meaningful numbers
for a comparison. Unfortunately statisticians can and do use
numbers to say what they want. Likewise, a guarantee of 1
million sperm still means you are sterile. This surgery is very
precise and results depend largely on the skill of the surgeon.
However, smoking history, the age of the patient and spouse,
previous fertility history, and time since the vasectomy was
performed are all important variables.
For
microsurgical vasoepididymostomy the patency rate is over 60%
and the pregnancy rate is 40%. Data collected by the
Vasovasostomy Study Group (the largest multicenter study of
vasectomy reversals, published in 1991) showed a distinct
increase in success rates when the surgery was performed using
an operating microscope by a skilled micro surgeon as opposed to
utilizing loop magnification.
|
