Post Vasectomy Semen Testing

Vasectomy does not work immediately so you must use backup birth control until we do the test and declare your semen free of sperm. The top half of the vas, and the seminal vesicles next to the prostate, can harbor holdout sperm in nooks and crannies for weeks, and occasionally months. That’s why using another birth control method is essential until we do a semen check at the lab and ensure that there are no sperm left in the ejaculate.

We do a test at 12 weeks and, if necessary, a double check at 16 weeks. If your test results are clear you can safely stop backup birth control and enjoy sex ‘au naturel.’

Call Lifelabs a few weeks ahead and book a date and time that’s convenient for you to bring in the semen sample, at body temperature, within 30 minutes of collection. You don’t need to run any red lights.

I will phone you regarding the result of the test.

If the first test shows that you still have sperm we don’t rush in to do another vasectomy. We just stall for time. Most guys will ‘come clean’ within another four weeks but the occasional “diehard” will take longer, up to six months.

The persistence of any live sperm six months out from the vasectomy indicates that the little devils have managed to ‘break on through to the other side.’ In this practice, over 30 years and 14000 vasectomies, that happens less than one in 200 vasectomies.

Even if you’re clear at 12 weeks, there is still a small chance of re-cannalization (a.k.a. failure) later down the road. This happens less than 1 in 2000 cases. This is much safer than most of the other standard birth control methods, making vasectomy the most effective method of birth control available. If you’re paranoid about re-cannalization for any reason, we can do another semen test at any time, but it’s not considered necessary. Remember, nothing in life is 100% certain, except death. (Not everybody pays taxes, y’know!)

All kidding aside, you and your partner need to read the patient information section of this site carefully and ensure that all your questions are answered before you have a vasectomy.