Hemostat Vasectomy - How It Works

A hemostat vasectomy is an excellent option for those patients who are anxious about undergoing a surgical procedure in one of the most sensitive parts of their body. It is also more popularly known as a ‘no scalpel vasectomy’, a technique that originated in China but is now widely practiced in medical circles all over the world.

As you might know, a vasectomy is an excellent form of permanent birth control wherein the vas tubes which deliver sperm is either cut or blocked. A wound accompanied by a lot of bleeding often results from a vasectomy and as it heals, a scar is left in its wake.

For those men who do not want to go through this, a hemostat vasectomy is an excellent procedure since it does not entail any cutting or bleeding and will not even leave any kind of scar. A hemostat is a tool often used in surgery, resembling a pair of scissors or tweezers. Instead of a blade, a hemostat has a locking clamp. It is a usual part of most first aid kits since it is used most frequently to control bleeding.

Hemostat Vasectomy 101

In a hemostat vasectomy, the doctor will aim for the vas deferens without cutting through the skin and grips onto this. With the hemostat, a tiny hole is made through the skin until it is enough to pull out the vas deferens. This step of the procedure requires the surgeon to make a supination maneuver, wherein the wrist must be rotated to take out the vas tubes.

The urologist or surgeon will use either sutures, clamps or a laser device to cut and then close the ends of the vas tubes. Once these steps are completed, then you will be on your way to permanent sterilization.

Another similar but simpler hemostat vasectomy would be the percutaneous vasectomy. In this case, the hemostat is used to make a puncture in the skin. The tricky part of finding the vas tubes under the skin and spearing them out is done away with. The clamp is used to pass through the incision and then later sealing and enclosing the section where the vas tubes are cut and blocked. Without the supination maneuver, there is a smaller degree for errors in the no scalpel vasectomy.

Compared to the scalpel vasectomy, a hemostat vasectomy will take only about ten minutes and requires only local anesthesia and no confinement of the patient. However, the only downside to this type of procedure is that it demands the expertise of the doctor. You need to make sure that the doctor has a good track record of at least ten or more successful operations. Unless the doctor is skilled, there are many complications that could develop from this type of surgery.