A study of twenty-three cases of postvasectomy sterility operated for recanalization

Twenty-three patients with postvasectomy sterility underwent recanalization by means of various techniques. In most of the cases, the commonest reason for requesting recanalization was death of a male child and re-marriage. The majority of patients were farmers with a low economic status, and all were Hindus by caste. The interval between vasectomy and recanalization ranged from 3 to 48 weeks. The patients were aged between 22 and 40 years. Nine cases were successfully operated on (confirmed by presence of spermatozoa in postoperative semen analysis): out of ten operated on bilaterally by the end-to-end method with splint, five were cured (one pregnancy resulted). Both of the patients operated on by the double method (splinted end-to-end and side-to-side) were cured. One was operated on each side. One patient operated on unilaterally by the microsurgical technique was also cured, but another operated on by the telescopic method on one side and vasoepididymostomy on the other was lost to follow-up. 4-0 monofilament nylon was used in all splinted recanalizations, whereas in the one successful case treated by the bilateral end-to-end method, 5-0 chronic catgut was used as intravasal stent. The suture material used in all cases to approximate the vasal walls was 6-0 arterial silk under ophthalmic loupe magnification; seromuscular 3-4 interrupted sutures were used in 22 cases; in the one case operated on by the microsurgical method, 8-0 nylon was used.