Vasectomy and vasectomy reversal.

Vasectomy remains the safest method of birth control and there is much to commend it in the setting of a stable family relationship. However, some aspects of this operation have been wrongly presented in an attempt to widen its popularity and increase public acceptance. A simple procedure it may be but it is not totally free of complications; sometimes the operation has to be repeated and rarely it may reverse spontaneously even after the most stringent precautions. The family planning officer who counsels a prospective candidate and the surgeon who undertakes the procedure must ensure that these facts are understood by the patient with crystal clarity and that this fact is duly recorded on a signed and witnessed permission slip. Any organization which includes vasectomy in its programme of family planning should include advice and referral for vasectomy reversal in exactly the same way that the pill may be stopped or a coil can be removed. Fertility can be successfully restored by vasovasostomy in 50% of men who wish to have their vasectomies reversed, which often is due to a change in circumstances beyond their direct control.