THE OPERATION
For comfort, the operation is performed under general anaesthetic. You will starve from midnight on the night before your operation and avoid aspirin, alcohol, garlic and certain other medicines for 48 hours prior to surgery. It is advisable to stop or cut down smoking. The anaesthetic involves no more than a pin prick, following which you will slowly drift off to sleep. The operation takes between one and one and a half hours to perform.
The surgeon usually makes an incision mid-line in the scrotal sac, locates the severed ends of the vas deferens, cleans the tubes and gently stretches them until they join together. The incision is closed with soluble stitches, which normally dissolve within two weeks.
