GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - This week in our Real Men Wear Gowns campaign, we're talking about vasectomies.
“It's a very popular thing among men who are done with childbearing or don't wish to have any children. I personally probably do three or four of them a week,” says HealthPartners Urologist Dr. Laurence O’Connor.
O’Connor says a vasectomy is about 99.9% effective and a procedure that won't knock you down for very long.
“It's done under local anesthesia and takes under 10 minutes. It's very comfortable, most people drive themselves to and from the office,” O’Connor says.
He says you have to take it easy for two days after the surgery and you can resume all sexual activity after a week. However, even after the procedure is complete, men aren't considered completely sterile for several months.
“You're not sterile right immediately. You do need to wait about eight to twelve weeks for everything to wash out,” O’Connor says.
Dr. O'Connor says there is a procedure to reverse the vasectomy if you change your mind, but it's a much bigger ordeal to go through.
So, if you are planning to move forward with a vasectomy, he says you should be at least 21 years old and aware of what you're doing.
“Preferable 23 or 24 years old before they undergo a vasectomy just to make double sure that they're 100% certain that this is what they want to do because it should be considered a permanent procedure,” O’Connor says.