What is a vasectomy?

A vasectomy is a procedure that interrupts the vas deferens, which is the tube that carries sperm from the testicles to the prostate where they are mixed with the semen. It is usually done with small scrotal incisions with local anesthetic. The vas deferens is lifted out of the incision and freed from the tissue layers covering it. Once isolated, a small length of vas deferens is cut away, and oversewn to minimize the chance of the tube repairing itself. The ends of the vas deferens are then allowed to drop back into the scrotum and the skin wound is closed. Once the vas deferens is divided in this way there is less than a 1 in 4500 chance of conceiving a child.