I perform vasectomies solely under local anaesthetic. That means I don’t use general anaesthetic or IV sedation. I can safely say that more than 99% of men can tolerate the vasectomy procedure very easily.
The most painful parts of a vasectomy are:
1. Infiltration of the local anaesthesia into the scrotal skin. This is comparable to getting a needle at the dentist. I use very thin needles
2. Infiltration of a local anaesthetic around each vas deferens. While not painful per se, it can give an uncomfortable feeling in the abdomen, like you may feel if kicked in the testicles. That said, the sensation is usually quite transient (less than a couple of seconds)
3. If there is any excessive tugging. Men with short scrotums may require a bit more squeezing and tugging than others and in rare situations, it might be necessary to abandon the procedure and perform it under sedation or general anaesthesia. In my experience, this occurs in around 1 in 200 cases.
So is a vasectomy painless? No. But I wouldn’t describe it as painful either.
When considering a vasectomy in Sydney or in any other location, patient factors such as pain threshold, anxiety levels around needles, and anatomy of the genitals all play a part. But on the whole, it is usually easily performed under local anaesthetic with no major discomfort.
Read more… https://www.quora.com/Is-the-vasectomy-operation-painful/answer/Geoff-Cashion
About The Author
Geoff Cashion
Dr Cashion was born in Brisbane and grew up in Rockhampton. After graduating in medicine from the University of Queensland in 2002 he spent many years working in emergency medicine and general practice. He completed training in the No Scalpel Vasectomy technique under Dr Doug Stein in Florida with further training undertaken in Australia. Opening Vasectomy Australia, he has grown it into one of the largest providers of Vasectomy in Australia, while still performing more than 3500 vasectomies a year himself.
