Monthly Archives: January 2018

Dr. Shu Participating in International Medical Mission in the Sixth Time | Minneapolis & St Paul

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Minnesota surgeon Dr. Steven Shu, medical director of One Stop Medical Center, lead a group of Chinese American doctors from the United States going to the Haiti in the mid of January, 2018 to provide free medical care for local residents. This is the sixth time that he has been active in international medical mission since 2015, and it is the fourth time that he goes to the Haiti.

Dr. Shu and another surgeon Dr. Dean Currie performed about 40 office procedures. Three other team physicians (Keyi Yang, a neurologist from Seattle, Ming He from New Jersey, a neuro-ophthalmologist and Jerri Mao, an internist from San Jose) went to the mobile clinic with other medical mission group and provided general care to the hundreds people in the villages.

Over the past 14 years, Dr. Shu has been enjoying making his contributions to local communities. Since 2015, he has been focusing more on his international volunteer work in Haiti and Philippines. In 2017, he became a founding president of Medical Volunteers International (MVI), a new non-profit organization for the Chinese American physicians dedicating the medical missions in the poorest countries around world. The MVI collaborated with the faith-based non-profit organization Mission of Hope Haiti and carried out the first Haitian International Medical Program.

Dr. Shu’s medical mission dream is to establish the surgical centers in Haiti.

Second Attempt After Unsuccessful Vasectomy Reversal

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Success rate for vasectomy reversal is generally reported in two ways: sperm recovery rate (patency success rate) and pregnancy rate. Patency rate refers to the likelihood of the vas deferens remaining open and providing unobstructed flow of sperm cells. High patency rate means that flow is unobstructed and sperm has a high likelihood of returning to the seminal fluid. Pregnancy rates are always lower than patency rates, as there are multiple factors that affect pregnancy.

The single most important factor in whether a vasectomy reversal procedure will be successful is the interval in time (years) between vasectomy and vasectomy reversal. Primary failure after a vasectomy reversal means no sperm is seen in the post semen analysis tests. If the sperms showed up in the initial semen analysis after the procedure, but is not seen in the follow up semen analysis, it is called secondary vasovasostomy failure.

If you have been frustrated and disappointed with an unsuccessful vasectomy reversal, you may want to ask a microsurgeon whether another attempt might be worth it.

In general, first-time vasovasostomy failures often occur in patients that are more prone to develop heavier scars, which can narrow at the location of the reversal. In some cases, the tissue in the ends of vas deferens could be dead due to ischemia. Other reasons include an undetected epididymal blockage and epididymal dysfunction. Of course, the surgeon’s experience and techniques matters. This is why it is particularly important to choose your surgeon carefully. The success rates for a second reversal are slightly lower than for first-time procedures.
Second-attempt Vasectomy Reversal Techniques

If the patients showed evidence of healthy sperm in their seminal fluid during the first reversal procedure, or had the positive result in the initial semen analysis, they are probably the good candidates for a repeat vasectomy reversal When the vas deferens appears healthy and doesn’t have a lot of scar tissue from the previous procedure, a surgeon will usually do another vasovasostomy, and the chances of a successful second attempt are fairly good.

If the vas fluid is not favorable and no sperm was seen, if the first reversal left the vas deferens too short, if injury to the vas deferens is more extensive, or if a surgeon believes that the epididymis is scarred or blocked, a vasectomy reversal re-do becomes more complicated. In some cases, the more effective approach is a vasoepididymostomy, which is a more complex procedure than a vasovasostomy. Dr.Shu doesn’t perform vasoepididymostomy, but he will refer you to see a urologist who performs vasoepididymostomy. In other cases, however, there are a number of effective alternatives to vasectomy reversal that are worth investigating, such as In vitro Fertilization (IVF), donor sperms, and adoption.

Risks of NOT Getting a Vasectomy | Minnesota

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A lot of men worry about the risks of getting a vasectomy. If you’re reading this you might be one of them. It’s only natural – the decision to get a vasectomy is not one to be taken lightly. You’ve probably spent hours googling things like “how long will I be out of work vasectomy” or “vasectomy pain” or “vasectomy recovery time” But have you ever considered the risks of not getting a vasectomy?

If you’re not planning on having another a child, and I mean really, really not planning to have a child, you have to ask whether the risks and possible consequences of using reversible forms of contraception outweigh the benefits of pregnancy. Hint: it doesn’t.

If we’re just talking about the man’s health, it’s better to just not get a vasectomy. But by not getting a vasectomy, you accept all the risks and burdens associated with pregnancy and childbirth, most of which are put on your partner’s shoulders.

“But what if I use other contraception?” Well, sure. But if you’re having any kind of sex, there is always an inherent risk. Yeah, condoms work. But maybe, one night you’ve had a little too much wine and suddenly not using condom seems like a better and better idea. With a vasectomy that’s not a problem.

Other birth control methods have their own problems. Hormonal birth control often results in adverse reactions, including abdominal discomfort, weight gain, menstrual irregularity, decreased libido, headaches, edema, vaginal dryness, rash, fatigue, dizziness, and many more that vary depending on the birth control. Not to mention the failure rate- Nuvaring has a 9% failure rate. The patch has an 8% failure rate with typical use. The shot? 5%. Birth control pills is 0.3% with perfect use, but because it’s so easy to forget it’s 8% in reality.

Now let’s say you decide to use contraception and it does fail. Here are the risks of surgical abortion:

– Infection of the womb: One in ten abortions
– Some of the pregnancy left in womb: one in twenty abortions
– Continuation of pregnancy: Less than 1% of abortions
– damage to cervix: one in one hundred abortions
– Excessive bleeding: one in one thousand abortions

That’s not including the emotional and psychological trauma of having an abortion.

Now, if you do decide to go through with having the baby, you’re putting a lot of risk on your partner. Pregnancy can result in:

– Hypertension: 6-8% of pregnancies
– Preeclampsia: 2-6% of pregnancies
– Ectopic pregnancy: 2% of pregnancies
– Miscarriage: 10-20% of pregnancies
– Gestational Diabetes: 2-10% of pregnancies
– Rupture of the uterus: 1-8% of pregnancies
– Severe vomiting: 20% of pregnancies
– Uterine rupture: Less than 1% of pregnancies
– Hyperthyroidism: 2.5% of pregnancies

None of these conditions are fun. Of course, then comes childbirth:

– Vaginal and perineal laceration: Majority of pregnancies
– Puerperal infection: 1-8% of pregnancies
– Fecal/Urinary incontinence: 28% of pregnancies
– Post partum depression: 10-20% of pregnancies
– Post partum hemorrhage: 18% of pregnancies
– Stretch marks
– Hemorrhoids
– Mastitis
– Clogged Ducts
– Kidney infections

And that’s not even the entire list. Then of course, if your pregnancy comes to term and you successfully have a child, you now have an entire human being to raise for the next two decades.

Or, you could just get a vasectomy.