Risks & Complications of Vasectomy Reversal (Vasovasostomy) | Minnesota

Although an Easy™ vasectomy reversal is one of the safest procedures, there are still chances of minor complications, such as infection, bleeding, prolonged pain or transient bruising, temporary swelling or fluid accumulation. Most patients experience a dull ache in the scrotal region, but this usually resolves with time. We avoid the risks related to general anesthesia or intravenous sedation by using the local anesthesia only, and the risk from local anesthesia is almost zero.

The potential risks and complications:

• Hematoma(collection of blood) in the scrotum occurs in less than 5% of men. Mild swelling, bruise and pain are expected after such surgery, but excessive scrotal swelling and bruise could be a hematoma, the patients should report immediately if they suspect to have a hematoma. Small hematoma usually resolves by itself, and the patients may take the pain medications and antibiotic for pain management and infection prevention. Large hematoma needs to be drained to facilitate recovery. Very occasionally, the patient needs to be operated in order to stop acute arterial bleeding. We didn’t have any case of large hematoma or arterial bleeding since we offered the vasectomy reversal service.
• Seroma (collection of fluid) can accumulate in the scrotum after surgical trauma and local anesthesia. It happens rarely. In some cases that prone to develop hematoma or seroma, Dr. Shu preventively put small Penrose rubber tube in the scrotum to drain the blood or fluid over 24 hours.
• Infection occurs in the wound or inside scrotum, more common if there is a hematoma beneath the skin. The risk of infection in vasectomy reversal procedure is less than 1%. The patients usually take oral antibiotic in the first week of post-op to minimize it. If scrotal infection happens, abscess needs to be drained, and the patients will be given a different oral antibiotic, or in its most serious form, intravenous antibiotics in the clinic or hospital.
• The patients should watch for the signs of infections in the first week, such as worsening pain, swelling, redness, or purulent drainage, and fever. We didn’t have any case of scrotum infection since we offered the vasectomy reversal service in our clinic.
• Postoperative acute pain (mild) in the first week or occasional prolonged dull ache (congestion) in the testicles, usually disappears within a few weeks or months.
• During or after vasectomy reversal, when a small amount of sperms and fluid leaks out of the reconnected site of vas, it may induce an inflammatory reaction termed a granuloma (risk less than 1%) that may be painful, but usually resolves with time. Rarely this will disrupt the reconnection.
• Epididymitis, when the packed vas tube behind the testicle becomes inflamed and swollen, although very rare, can be treated with heat application and medication.
• Sexual difficulties for the man due to psychological and emotional responses to a vasectomy reversal.