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Urologists suggest single semen test for clearance following vasectomy

Research from The Netherlands, published in the June issue of the urology journal BJUI, suggest having to provide repeated semen samples following a vasectomy could soon be a thing of the past, after 96 per cent of men were given the all-clear based on a single test three months after surgery. Research showed that 51 per cent of the 1,073 samples contained no sperm and a further 45 per cent contained less than 100,000 immotile sperm.

The study - based on guidelines issued by the Dutch Urological Association - shows that one semen test is adequate to provide clearance in the vast majority of cases

No paternity was reported in the cleared group after a follow-up of at least a year.

Vasectomy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that provides a widespread, reliable and relatively easy method of birth control. One of the major drawbacks is that a considerable number of men still have a few immotile sperm in their semen for a year or more. Conventional guidelines have stated that clearance can only be given to men who provide one or two sperm-free samples. The fear of legal action if pregnancy does occur has led to very conservative vasectomy protocols

The Dutch study clearly shows that three months after vasectomy about half of our patients were still producing sperm, albeit immotile and in very small numbers. The authors conclude that the era of repeated visits to a clinic to deliver yet another semen sample many months after a vasectomy may now be over.