Health consequences of vasectomy in India

Vasectomy acceptance has been declining in India during the past 20 years. Even if the risk of prostate cancer is marginally higher in vasectomized men, this risk in India has to be assessed against the immediate safety and other possible long-term benefits of this procedure. The Indian Council of Medical Research has launched a case-control study, which is unlikely to be time-consuming or beyond the available means and resources, in order to obtain definitive data on this problem. Meanwhile, vasectomy remains an excellent procedure for the couple seeking permanent methods of contraception, and specific efforts to promote its acceptance must continue in India.