Web Watch
About 500,000 men in the United States each year choose vasectomy as a permanent form of birth control. Chosen by men who have completed their families or by men who want no children, men elect to undergo vasectomy because most reversible methods are less reliable, sometimes inconvenient, and might have unpleasant side effects for the women in their lives. All vasectomies should be considered permanent; reversal operations are expensive and not always successful, according to EngenderHealth.
Following are web sites with good information on vasectomy options:
1. EngenderHealth (formerly AVSC Inter-national). Web: www.engenderhealth.org.
In March 2001, the New York City-based AVSC International formally changed its name to EngenderHealth. The organization made the move to better reflect its continuing mission of working "worldwide to improve the lives of individuals by making reproductive health services safe, available, and sustainable."
EngenderHealth has a strong commitment to no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV). It pioneered the introduction of NSV in the United States in 1988 following its 1985 visit to China to learn the vasectomy technique developed by Chinese surgeon Li Shunqiang.
The NSV technique is less invasive, less painful, heals more quickly, and has fewer complications than the traditional vasectomy procedure. (To learn more about NSV, check out Contraceptive Technology Update, May 2000, p. 56.)
Click on the "Family Planning" link under "Women’s Health" on the opening page of the EngenderHealth web site, then scroll down to see the available information under the "Vasectomy" heading.
Information on the web site addresses common questions about vasectomy such as:
• Does vasectomy cause any medical problems?
• Will it affect me emotionally?
• Will it affect my masculinity?
• How will it affect me sexually?
• Will it protect me from sexually transmitted infections, like AIDS?
• Can the operation be reversed?
• Can I store semen in a sperm bank in case I change my mind?
An especially helpful section, titled "Is vasectomy right for me?" guides the reader through a series of questions to help determine if the contraceptive method is the proper route.
Information also is available on the Vasectomy Information Line [(888) VASEC-4-U], a toll-free, 24-hour confidential service. Callers hear prerecorded information about vasectomy, and if desired, have the option to be connected with a vasectomy provider at a local public health facility. The telephone service is available in English and Spanish.
The web site also carries a listing by state and province of physicians in the United States and Canada who have reportedly received training in no-scalpel vasectomy, either by attending a training seminar/workshop or by receiving hands-on training in the technique. Providers who have received such training and wish to be listed on the site should send an e-mail to the following address: [email protected].
2. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Web: www.nichd.nih.gov.
Click on "Publications" under "Health Inform-ation and Media" to find the on-line version of Facts About Vasectomy Safety, published by the Bethesda-based National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The brochure covers vasectomy techniques and advantages and disadvantages of vasectomy. The publication also addresses vasectomy’s impact on masculinity and sexuality, immune reactions to sperm, and what to expect post-vasectomy.
3. Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Web: www.plannedparenthood.org.
Click on "Birth Control" under "Sexual Health" to read the on-line version of All About Vasectomy, published by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The publication covers facts on how vasectomy works; reasons to consider the method, as well as reasons to choose another option; and information on other issues, such as cancer risks.
4. Vasectomy.com. Web: www.vasectomy.com.
This commercial web site carries general information on vasectomy and vasectomy reversals. It offers information on anatomy, risks and complications, what to expect, alternatives, no-scalpel vasectomy, and vasectomy reversals. The information is prepared by Theodore Benderev, MD, an associate clinical professor of surgery/urology at the University of California at Irvine, who performs vasectomies and vasectomy reversals in his Mission Viejo private practice.
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