Vasectomy reversal is a safe, delicate microsurgical procedure that is growing in availability and popularity....

Each year, a number of men elect to have a reversal of their vasectomy, often because of a change in their lives, such as having a new spouse through remarriage, and the desire for a second family, or a change in family planning goals within the same marriage.

Although a vasectomy should be regarded as permanent, advances in microsurgery have resulted in surgeons being able to reverse the procedure, and restore fertility, in many cases.

The technical name for a vasectomy reversal is a vasovasostomy. This is surgically performed by reconnecting the previously cut ends of the vas deferens to rebuild an open vas channel for sperm to again become part of the man's ejaculate.

A vasectomy reversal is considered to be comparatively safe, but it is a more delicate and involved microsurgical procedure than a vasectomy. Typically, it is performed on an outpatient basis in a surgical centre and requires no overnight hospital stay.

The surgery requires an operating microscope and takes about two hours in the operating theatre and a few more to recover from the anaesthetic. The vas deferens that are to be rejoined are about the size of a round shoelace. The inner channel which must be precisely aligned is about one third of a millimeter in diameter and the tiny suture material used in the procedure is nearly invisible.