The Toulouse University Hospital innovates and hits the mark with scalpel-free vasectomy
It’s a real social phenomenon. In France, requests for vasectomy are on the rise. An act open to men over 18 after a four-month reflection period. In 2015, 3,743 vasectomies were performed. In 2021, there were 21,277, more than five times more in a few years. In Occitania more than 2000 men have requested a vasectomy in 2021.
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure often performed under general anesthesia that consists of ligating channels responsible for transporting sperm. Although very low risk, this “classic” technique, may involve risks : hematomas, post-operative pain, more or less long healing.
Fast and under local anesthesia
The Toulouse University Hospital is one of the first institutions in France to now offer a technique without a scalpel. A rapid technique, under local anesthesia which allows the patient to feel very little pain and complications are up to four times lower.
In Toulouse, fifty patients have already used this technique in the Department of Urology and the Department of Reproductive Medicine at the University Hospital.
Man in his thirties and in a relationship
The reasons for a vasectomy are varied. Most patients are in their fifties and almost all are in a couple (93%). The vast majority of children (93%). In 78%, these eager men take charge of contraception. Other men express the wish not to have any more children, or to enroll in the “Child Steps movement” sometimes ecological concern.
Professor Eric Huyghe even believes that the request is for vasectomy is “exponential”. And the but is simplify a bit more. The doctor believes that the technique will still evaluate. “We also recommend from 2023 to offer an intervention offer in external care, allowing us to perform this gesture in about fifteen minutes.”