Male sterilization in El Salvador: A preliminary report

The expectation that male sterilization would not be an acceptable method of fertility control to the Latin American male has not been upheld in the initial phases of male sterilization programs in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador. On the contrary, in all of these programs and also at the Asociación Demográfica Salvadoreña, a free-standing, non-profit family planning clinic in San Salvador, the initial success has been impressive, with 180 men accepting sterilization during the first two years (February, 1972 to February, 1974). All sterilizations were performed by excising a 10-15 mm segment of each vas and ligating each vas end. Procedures were performed on an outpatient basis using a local anesthetic. Follow-up examinations were conducted at one week and three months after the procedure. Although complications were reported by 24.0% of the subjects at the one-week follow-up, the complications were minor: most were scrotal infections not requiring antibiotic therapy. Rates of complications were low for subjects returning for a three-month examination and semen test. Only one subject had a positive semen test.