Vasectomy Consultation
Is a vasectomy consultation required?
We do not require a mandatory consultation before having a vasectomy.
Most doctors make you schedule an consultation appointment to discuss vasectomy before having the procedure.
A consultation is reasonable since vasectomy is considered a permanent and potentially life changing experience.
Experts of the American Urological Association are of the opinion vasectomy patients should have a preoperative vasectomy consultation.
“A preoperative interactive consultation should be conducted, preferably in person. If an in-person consultation is not possible, then preoperative consultation by telephone or electronic communication is an acceptable alternative.”
– Expert Opinion of the American Urological Association: 2015 Vasectomy Position Statement
Unfortunately recommending and requiring something are vastly different.
If you recommend a consultation then that leaves the choice to the individual to decide what is best for them. If you require a vasectomy consultation then you are enforcing your beliefs upon another individual.
Consultations can cause barriers
Requiring a vasectomy consultation creates a barrier that causes some people to not get a vasectomy.
This could be from a variety of reasons but usually can be reduced to the fact many of us don’t have the time to keep multiple appointments that must be made months into the future.
An unfortunate consequence of requiring a consultation is patients have to schedule six months into the future. Most patients are not eager to get a vasectomy and any excuse can cause them to skip their appointments. These patients will not be charged for their missed appointments and there is no incentive to show up or to even cancel ahead of time. This creates inefficiency in vasectomy scheduling. This inefficiency causes delays for others who are serious about having a vasectomy and are trying to scheduling vasectomy.
How many of us can reliably make and keep a routine dental appointment made six months into the future?
Most importantly, many patients are anxious and fearful when having a vasectomy. Unnecessary delays give more time for these fears and anxieties to weigh heavily on a person.
Vasectomy consultation: Our approach
We are of the opinion vasectomy is a safe and simple procedure.
When having a vasectomy you only have to make one decision: do you want any children biologically similar to you or do you want to have any more children biologically similar to you? This is the only question you need to answer to have a vasectomy with our office. If you need someone else to answer this question for you then you have much greater issues to worry about.
We only offer vasectomy to patients over the age of 21. Our patients are all adults.
Most people are aware vasectomy is a permanent procedure that prevents you from fathering a pregnancy. The procedure is safe, simple, and easily performed in a doctor’s office with a low risk of complications.
We are of the belief if you are an adult then it is your body and your choice.
We believe it is entirely acceptable to have a vasectomy without a consultation appointment if that is your choice.
Who needs a vasectomy consultation?
We recommend but we do not require all our patients to have a consultation before having a vasectomy.
A vasectomy consultation should strongly be considered for two categories of patients.
Undescended testicle. Some men are born with testicles that have not fully descended into the scrotum. Usually, this condition is surgically corrected during infancy. Patients with a history of undescended testicles can have more challenging anatomy and their vasectomy procedures can be more complicated.
If you have an undescended testicle (either surgically repaired or not repaired) then you should consider scheduling a consultation appointment to see if vasectomy is the best choice for you.
For these patients an in-office exam can easily determine who will have a more challenging vasectomy procedure.
Prescription blood thinners. Patients who are on prescription blood thinners have a higher risk of bleeding complications with surgical procedures. A consultation appointment is recommended to discuss management of your blood thinner and determine if you could be at an increased risk of a bleeding complication.
Patients who are on prescription blood thinners can contact their prescribing doctor, inform them they are having a vasectomy, and their doctor can make recommendations about how to manage their blood thinning medication around the time of vasectomy. Ideally the doctor should fax/email their recommendations to our office. If you were able to obtain the recommendations on how to manage your blood thinner then you should be able to skip the consultation appointment.
If you have one of the two high risk conditions above, then a consultation appointment and a physical exam can help better determine the difficulty of your vasectomy procedure.
Most patients will be excellent candidates for vasectomy. A small minority of patients will not be great candidates for vasectomy. Tubal ligation or an intra-uterine device (IUD) may be a better choice for these higher risk patients.
It is rare to have a condition that makes you a poor candidate for a vasectomy procedure.
Do you need a vasectomy consultation?
We recommend you have a consultation if you have unanswered questions about vasectomy, have a history of undescended testicle, or are taking a prescription blood thinner.
We maintain an extensive website with great educational vasectomy videos. Many of our patients are well educated about vasectomy before they make their appointment.
Most patients don’t make a hasty decision to have a vasectomy. We prefer to let patients determine what they feel is best for them because each patient has a unique and personal reason why they want to have a vasectomy.
Many of our patients are content having a single visit vasectomy.
Some patients do have concerns about their medical conditions, vasectomy risks, or vasectomy complications. Sometimes the patient is perfectly content but their partner may have concerns.
If you or your partner have concerns about having a vasectomy procedure then you should make a consultation appointment.
Your choice, your decision: One visit or two!
This website has been designed to provide readers with extensive information about vasectomy.
We have provided in-depth education about the risks and benefits of having a vasectomy.
If you have a high-risk health condition or have questions or concerns about vasectomy after reviewing the website then we encourage you to make a vasectomy consultation appointment.
You are also welcome to schedule a consultation to discuss if vasectomy is appropriate for you.
Essentially, you are making a personal choice about your life and how you want to control your fertility.
We think it is entirely appropriate to let you decide if you want to have a single visit vasectomy procedure or a consultation visit before having a vasectomy.
