Vasectomy reversal: Unilateral versus bilateral vasovasostomy

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficiencies of unilateral and bilateral vasovasostomies as the vasectomy reversal procedures. A total of 95 patients with a history of bilateral vasectomy were evaluated. 42 of them had undergone unilateral surgery, and bilateral surgery had been done for the other 53 patients. Their information including the age, the time interval between the initial vasectomy to the reversal surgery and other underlying illnesses or medications was gathered. Patency rates in the unilateral and bilateral groups were 88.1% (38 patients) and 88.7% (48 patients), respectively, the difference of which was not statistically significant (p = .907). Successful pregnancies occurred in 22 (52.4%) and 29 (54.7%) patients, respectively, which did not show any statistically significant difference too (p = .713). Based on the multivariate logistic regression model, only the time interval between vasectomy and the reversal (duration of obstruction) was predictive of patency (OR = 1.112, p = .037). The outcomes of the unilateral and bilateral vasovasostomies in terms of patency and pregnancy rates were not significantly different. We suggest that performing unilateral, instead of bilateral, vasovasostomy can reduce the time of anaesthesia and surgery and save costs and consumables without having a significant negative impact on the surgical outcomes.