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Vasectomy reversal success rates

A successful vasectomy reversal can depend on a number of factors:

1. The time since your vasectomy. 

2. Whether an operating microscope is to perform the vasectomy reversal. 

3. The skill and experience of the surgeon. 

4. The age of your partner.

5. Other factors such as anti-sperm antibodies. 


Most vasectomy reversal clinics will quote a success rate of around 90%, but many don’t make it clear if this is their own personal success rate or an estimate based on other surgeons’ results.

When looking at success rates reported by various clinics, it is important to ask what success really means. Usually, the quotes success rate are based on the presence of any sperm cells in a post-op semen test. Even if just a few sperms are seen, this would be counted as positive. Of course, if the sperm count remains very low, this may not be enough to make you fertile again.


Low sperm count
It isn’t easy to say what sperm count is needed to become fertile. Many men with “low” sperm counts can father children. Generally, a sperm count of over 15 million per ml would be considered normal though. Other factors like motility and morphology (the shape of the sperm cells) are also important. If the sperm count isn’t very good to start with, don’t worry, as things can continue to improve with time.


Pregnancy
The best success rate to look at is pregnancy, but this can be difficult to keep track of as not all patients report back to their surgeons. A general idea of success rates is given below, but these are an estimate only and it’s always best to ask your surgeon directly.


Success rate statistics
(Based on 1,469 US men – Belker Journal of Urology, 1991)

                        Patency (sperm in semen)            Pregnancy
Overall           86%                                                    52%
<3 years        97%                                                    76%
3 - 8 years     88%                                                    53%
9 - 14 years   79%                                                    44%
15+ years       71%                                                   30%


Sperm storage
If you are concerned about the vasectomy reversal failing, perhaps because your vasectomy a long time ago, then it may be possible to extract some sperms from the epididymis or testicle at the time of the procedure. The sperms are examined under a microscope, frozen and put into cold storage (cryo-preservation). These sperms can then be used for IVF treatments such as ICSI if needed at a later date.

Source: vasectomyreversaluk.co.uk