Failed Vasectomy - How It Can Happen

Even with a surgical procedure that has been extensively practiced, a failed vasectomy can still happen. You can go to the best surgeon that money can afford and follow all the precautions advised of you and the result can still be a failed procedure for a vasectomy. In other words, there are often no foolproof assurances of the success of a vasectomy since this is dependent on a number of factors, often beyond the control of the patient and the doctor.

You will only find out about a failed vasectomy once it results in an unwanted pregnancy. Because of this risk, it is important that you return to your doctor for periodic check-ups at least once a year.

One of the main reasons why a failed vasectomy occurs because of the doctor is failure on his or her part to advise the patient that sterilization does not occur immediately after the operation. The doctor needs to make it clear that until four months after the vasectomy, some sperm may still be present in the semen during ejaculation. The doctor needs to inform the patient that other forms of birth control need to be used until several semen samples are cleared, so as not to result in a vasectomy failure.

A failed vasectomy may also be attributed to the general physiology of the patient. The vas deferens tubes may spontaneously rejoin, usually because of sperm, white blood cells and scar tissue that grows and forms a new channel. Once this happens, it can already be considered a vasectomy failure and the operation needs to be redone. In the repeated surgery, the doctor should place a gap between the vas tubes to prevent a vasectomy failure from happening again.

The risk of failure in a vasectomy reversal is often higher than in an initial vasectomy. In cases of a failed vasectomy reversal, microsurgery reconstruction is often necessary for the procedure to be remedied. The vasectomy reversal may be because of the blockage of the tubes, the age of the patient and the time elapsed since the initial vasectomy.

Due to all these risks it is important to find a urologist or family practitioner that you can trust and who has a good track record when it comes to these operations.

What to Do in Case of a Failed Vasectomy

If the failed vasectomy came about because of the negligence of the surgeon, you can sue for malpractice. Although it may be difficult to prove that the blame should be placed on the urologist, enough evidence can often result in large malpractice claims.

Even if you have been warned that a vasectomy failure can happen, this does not mean that you cannot sue for medical malpractice anymore. The medical malpractice claim usually includes emotional and physical damages brought about by the vasectomy failure, aside from incidental expenses from childbirth.