Monthly Archives: September 2017

Find a Qualified Vasectomy Doctor | Minnesota

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A vasectomy is a simple office procedure that most doctors can complete within 30 minutes. Dr. Shu of One Stop Medical Center usually completes a non-scalpel, no-needle, no-suture vasectomy within 10 minutes. A vasectomy usually requires only 1% Lidocaine for local anesthesia with either a needle injection or the no-needle technique with Madajet. The patient usualy relax and take things easy for a couple of days, and the no-scalpel vasectomy typically has few complications. However, for very nervous patients with significant anxiety issues, vasectomies can also be performed under oral sedation.
The vasectomy procedures are usually conducted by urologists, other surgeons, and family physicians. Here are some tips to help find a qualified doctor who can perform vasectomies.

1. Check doctors’ credentials; besides basic medical credentials, the most important questions you need to ask are:

  • How many vasectomies does the doctor performs every year?
  • How many years has the doctor been performing vasectomies?
  • What is the failure rate?
  • What is the complication rate?

    • Experience matters.

    2. You may ask if the doctor uses the new no-scalpel techniques. It makes a big difference in many aspects between modern no scalpel vasectomy and traditional vasectomy. Some doctors claim they perform no-scalpel vasectomy, when their actual techniques are not necessarily the best. For example, spending 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and even 60 minutes to perform a vasectomy will result in very different experiences. The recovery is related to how much trauma the scrotum experiences during the procedure. The two day recovery time from no-scalpel vasectomy is another big difference compared to a 1-2 week recovery from traditional vasectomies. Moreover, the complication rate is much lower than traditional vasectomies.

    3. There are a multitude of sources that offer information on vasectomy doctors in a patient’s area. These include Google searches, insurance companies, and primary-care doctors. If the patient knows any friends, family members and colleagues who have had a vasectomy, ask them about their personal experience with that particular doctor and clinic. This information may be more in-depth, and can also provide the patient with a better understanding of the whole process and what to expect.

    4. Once a number of vasectomy doctors have been identified, try to find out more about them. While credentials and clinical experience are important to consider, there are also practical considerations to take into account. These factors indirectly indicate how much the doctors are committed to vasectomy care and quality of vasectomy care.

    a. You should review their website to see if:

  • It is an informative and well-designed website
  • The contents are frequently updated
  • There is a user friendly online registration.
  • It is a dynamic website with ongoing blog posting
  • There are positive testimonials. There is a big difference in the evaluation of patient satisfaction between a few outdated testimonials and hundreds of recent testimonials.

    • b. If the price is affordable, ask about the total cost (consultation fee, procedure fee, and semen analysis fee).

    c. You should find the whole vasectomy care system to be a friendly and patient-oriented service. For example, One Stop Medical Center offers online consultation through its convenient online registration and one trip care system.

    d. Consider the office location and convenience.

    e. Evaluate the quality of customer service: how the patient is treated on the phone during inquires, the cleanliness of the office, the attitudes of the staff during initial contacting, the level of the procedure room (simple office room or higher level of Surgicenter), and other less-tangible measurements should also influence your decision.

    More about Sperm Banking | Minnesota

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    Sperm banking, in the simplest of terms, refers to the practice of storing sperm for future use. Sperm can be stored indefinitely when cryogenically frozen, and can be thawed and used to fertilize an woman’s egg. A pregnancy conceived using frozen sperm is no different from a normal pregnancy.

    There are two types of sperm banks- private sperm banks, and donor sperm banks. Donor sperm banks, which many of you may have heard of, purchase sperm provided by donors and sell it to those who want children. Donors are screened and added to a database, and buyers can select which donor they prefer.

    A private sperm bank, unlike a donor sperm bank, only cater to individual families. Private sperm banks may be associated with a fertility clinic, or may be a branch of a national corporation. The sperm sample is either collected locally, at a clinic, or mailed overnight through a home collection kit. Many doctors may recommend two samples taken on separate days, just to be safe.

    Before the sperm can be collected, the donor’s blood must be tested for diseases that could be transmitted through sperm. This includes HIV, hepatitis B and C, and many more. If the donor tests positive for any of these the sample may be unusable.

    Once collected, the a small portion of the sample is tested to see how well it holds up to freezing and thawing, and whether or not it will be viable for future use. If all goes well, the sperm is slowly frozen in liquid nitrogen tanks at -190C, where they can be kept stable almost indefinitely. Even twenty year old sperm can still be useable.

    When the time comes for the sperm to be used, the bank coordinates the transfer of the frozen sperm to the fertility clinic, where it is thawed and prepared for the insemination procedure. Usually, only a small amount of sperm is required. That way, if it doesn’t work the first time, there will be enough for future attempts.

    Why Sperm Banking?
    Private sperm banking is excellent for men who wish to conceive a child but have lost reproductive function or have issues with infertility. It is also great for men who are unsure if they want a child, but wish to have the option later on in life. Men who plan to undergo vasectomy are good candidates to have their sperm frozen. Sperm banking is highly effective and well established method of ensuring future reproductive success.