|
Vasectomy
& Vasovasostomy
What is vasectomy?
In an over-populated world, methods of contraception are absolutely necessary to adopt to ward off unwanted pregnancies. Irrespective of conservative religious groups crying foul, the world needs to control its ever burgeoning population. Vasectomy or male sterilization is one viable option of contraception that could be adopted by millions of men worldwide.
The male reproductive tract performs three functions: It enables a man to produce offspring; it provides him with a supply of male hormones; and it enables him to experience sexual pleasure. Sperm are produced in the testes; when they mature they travel to the
epididymis, a C-shaped storage chamber adjoining the testes composed of a 20-foot coiled tube.
The sperms' journey through the epididymis takes about three weeks, at which point they pass into one of two muscular channels, called the vas differentia (a single channel is called a vas deferens). Each rigid and wire-like vas deferens composes part of the spermatic cord. From there, the sperm travel to the ejaculatory ducts. Right before ejaculation, fluid from the prostate gland and seminal vesicles mix with the sperm in the ejaculatory ducts to form semen, which is forced through the urethra during orgasm.
Vasectomy is an effective, inexpensive, and easy-to-perform procedure, which results in permanent sterility. It involves the surgical interruption of the vas differentia so that the sperm can no longer enter the ejaculatory ducts and fertilization cannot take place. Vasectomy has no effect on sperm production itself. The testicles continue to generate 50,000 sperm an hour, which continue to develop and leave the testicles but are then blocked in the vas deferens at the site of the vasectomy. Eventually the sperm die, and the patient's body absorbs them. During sex, the same amount of semen is produced, but the fluid will not contain sperm.
Vasectomy should not be confused with castration; it does not alter a man's sensation of orgasm and pleasure. The operation has no noticeable impact on a man's ability to perform sexually, nor does it affect the balance of male hormones, male sex characteristics, or sex drive. Sperm make up only a very small portion of semen, which is why men will notice no difference in the amount of semen ejaculated. As always, testosterone continues to be produced in the testes and delivered into the blood stream. The patient will not feel any different physically from the way he felt before. Vasectomy is, however, a sterilization procedure; once it has been performed, a man can no longer father a child.
|
