Painless vasectomy technique at Woy Woy
Dr Fabian Baez at the CIocktower medical centre in Woy Woy is one of the few general practitioners in Australia performing vasectomies using the painless, no scalpel technique.
Vasectomy is traditionally a minor procedure for male sterilisation usually performed in the doctor's surgery through two scalpel cuts either side of the scrotum.
The simpler, no-scalpel technique is performed through one pin hole using local anaesthetic and takes about 10-15 minutes.
Through this small hole the vas deferens (the tube through which sperm travel to join the seminal fluid) are bought to the surface using a specially designed instrument that looks like a very small crotchet hook.
The tube is cut and the ends are sealed using heat.
One end is tied and the other end is buried in the scrotal sheath.
This prevents the vas from rejoining together.
The pin hole rarely requires stitches and once healed the scar is almost invisible.
Most men can return to work on the third day after the procedure.
Usually no pain relief is required with some men commenting the next day that they don't believe the procedure had been done.
Vasectomy does not change sexual ability or pleasure, however extra contraceptive precaution must be taken for approximately nine weeks while a sperm count is performed confirming sterility.
Dr Baez said the procedure is very safe and has only 0.3 per cent complications as opposed to 4% for the traditional method.
The no-scalpel technique was developed in China where a cheap, painless and quick form of birth control was needed that could be performed safely almost anywhere.
Every year in Thailand on the King's birthday, a vasectomy festival is held where thousands of vasectomies are performed using this method in tents in the palace grounds as a form of population control.
No-scalpel vasectomy technique is gaining popularity in the United States and Australia is following quickly.
Dr Baez performs this procedure on Fridays and patients are usually back at work the following Monday.
The cost is $290 with $240 covered by Medicare.
The waiting list is approximately three weeks at present although this will be reduced soon with the procedure being performed twice a week due to enormous public response, said practice manager Sister Angela Mason.
For further information contact Sister Mason on 4344 4466.
Karen Booth, January 12