Microsurgical Technique Reverses Vasectomies
Doctor: 6 Percent Of Patients Have Surgery Reversed
UPDATED: 11:17 a.m. EDT April 16, 2004
NEW YORK -- A vasectomy is considered a permanent and effective form of male birth control. But sometimes, after having a vasectomy, men decide they want more children. Now surgeons can make that possible.
John Whitney appears to be like any other father of three, but he's not.
"I have two older boys, 20 and 21, and I thought that was going to be it," said Whitney.
So he had a vasectomy. Then, nine years ago, he remarried. It was his wife, Tana's, first marriage, and they wanted to start their own family.
"John and I spoke to an urologist prior to getting married because we knew that we wanted children," said Tana.
"With the divorce rate being about 50 percent in this country, there's a fairly high demand for reversal, in fact approximately 6 percent of men who come for a vasectomy, ultimately come back for reversal," said Dr. Marc Goldstein, of the New York Presbyterian Hospital.
The success rate in the past was very poor, and that's why the common perception is that a vasectomy is not reversible.
Goldstein is one of only a handful of urologists around the country perfecting a microsurgical technique to reverse vasectomies.
"In the hands of the average urologist it's not reversible," said Goldstein. "The surgery for reversing a vasectomy is technically very challenging, very difficult microsurgery."
Surgery can take hours, the needles are smaller than an eyelash and stitches are one-sixth the diameter of a human hair. Whitney needed four different procedures, but he and his wife say it was well worth it.
"I'm thrilled, I couldn't ask for anything more," said Whitney. "It's, you know, it's truly a blessing having these three children."
"I tell couples, if they're willing to do everything necessary to achieve their pregnancy, we can get almost all of them pregnant," said Goldstein.
John Whitney appears to be like any other father of three, but he's not.
"I have two older boys, 20 and 21, and I thought that was going to be it," said Whitney.
So he had a vasectomy. Then, nine years ago, he remarried. It was his wife, Tana's, first marriage, and they wanted to start their own family.
"John and I spoke to an urologist prior to getting married because we knew that we wanted children," said Tana.
"With the divorce rate being about 50 percent in this country, there's a fairly high demand for reversal, in fact approximately 6 percent of men who come for a vasectomy, ultimately come back for reversal," said Dr. Marc Goldstein, of the New York Presbyterian Hospital.
The success rate in the past was very poor, and that's why the common perception is that a vasectomy is not reversible.
Goldstein is one of only a handful of urologists around the country perfecting a microsurgical technique to reverse vasectomies.
"In the hands of the average urologist it's not reversible," said Goldstein. "The surgery for reversing a vasectomy is technically very challenging, very difficult microsurgery."
Surgery can take hours, the needles are smaller than an eyelash and stitches are one-sixth the diameter of a human hair. Whitney needed four different procedures, but he and his wife say it was well worth it.
"I'm thrilled, I couldn't ask for anything more," said Whitney. "It's, you know, it's truly a blessing having these three children."
"I tell couples, if they're willing to do everything necessary to achieve their pregnancy, we can get almost all of them pregnant," said Goldstein.
More On VasectomyDistributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
