IV Sedation is an intravenous form of anaesthetic where a needle is used to put a thin plastic tube into a vein in the back of your hand or arm. Small amounts of medicine are given to make you relaxed and sleepy. In most cases, you will not be aware during the procedure, or remember it afterwards. This is different to a General Anaesthetic (GA) where breathing gases are used and masks or tubes are used to assist breathing.

Anyone can choose to have IV Sedation for their vasectomy and many men simply prefer to be “knocked out” as they know they will not handle being awake for the procedure well. For men who have had previous inguinal hernia or scrotal surgery we recommend IV sedation as there is a chance that old scar tissue will make the vasectomy under Local Anaesthetic difficult and may mean the operation is postponed to a later date due to the need for IV sedation. All men who have had a previous vasectomy in the past should have IV sedation for the same reasons.

Local anaesthetic is where a small amount of medication is injected into the skin and tissues beneath the skin to deaden the area for a virtually pain-free operation. The deadening usually lasts for 30 minutes but at MSI Australia we use a long acting LA which leads to deadening for up to 5 hours or more. When the needle is introduced there can be a small pin-prick feeling but the virtually pain-free needle technique we use results in many men not feeling the needle at all.

LA is for anyone who chooses it and there is no need to fast or to have someone else drive you home. It is also for anyone who cannot have IV sedation because of a past reaction or a heart or lung disease. Very rarely some people will feel some faintness even up to an hour or 2 after any procedure under LA so you still need to be aware of this and be careful driving home.

If you have Private Health Insurance (PHI) and are interested in getting a vasectomy, then we have the perfect option that allows you to use your insurance and pay minimal or no gap.

Our model of care allows you to have your vasectomy in a premium Day Hospital facility, with the option of intravenous (IV) sedation or local anaesthetic (LA) at certain locations. About 30% of our clients choose IV Sedation and about 70% choose LA.

The “Gap” payment is the amount you pay after the Medicare and Private Health Insurance contributions to your treatment costs.

At all our Day Hospitals you will pay either no gap, or a maximum gap of $100 plus your excess. This can represent a saving of thousands of dollars compared to other providers.

The Germans checked it out and it turns out that “sexual satisfaction improved for the sterilised men”. Not only does your sex life get better, you also have more of it! According to the Journal of Sexual Medicine “men who have undergone vasectomy have sex more frequently than their non-vasectomised counterparts.”

A vasectomy is normally done under local anaesthetic, so the only pain you have to worry about is the needle going in, and your vasectomist is going to make sure that you feel that as little as possible (almost half of all MSI Australia patients report feeling no pain at all). Once that kicks in, it’s kind of like having someone brushing your teeth after novocaine; you’ll be aware that something’s happening but you’re not really going to feel it.

Once the local wears off you’re going to notice though; which is basically a great excuse to rest up on the couch for a couple of days and catch up on the rugby. Throw back a couple paracetamol and get intimate with your frozen peas and you’ll be feeling frisky again in no time.

There is no real difference in the efficacy rate between the two procedures; both have a higher than 99% success rate. However, experienced vasectomy surgeons typically have success rates greater than 99.9% equivalent to failure rates of less than 1 in 1000.

Vasectomy is the more affordable procedure. With private health insurance, you can be completely covered with no gap or a minimal fee under $100. Tubal ligation, because it involves a general anaesthetic, is more expensive and often costs around $4500.

Both procedures are safe, however because the tubal ligation involves a general anaesthetic and scalpel incisions, it is subject to the usual risks associated with this, such as: nausea, vomiting, infections, bruising, bleeding and issues with bladder or bowel function. These complications are rare.

Both procedures should be considered permanent. They are not procedures you should undergo if you are unsure about whether you would still like to have children. Even though both tubal ligation and vasectomy are technically reversible, the success rates will depend largely upon how long ago you had the procedure done. Reversals are expensive and usually not covered by insurance. We do not perform reversals.

At MSI Australia we like all of our patients to consider their vasectomy a permanent procedure. While there are reversal services available, it is important not to make the decision to get a vasectomy based on your ability to have it reversed at some point.

If you’re researching the reversibility of vasectomies before having the procedure done, it is probably a sign that you might not be ready to have one. We encourage all patients to view a vasectomy as a permanent sterilisation procedure.

The age of men who have vasectomies can vary as much as their reasons for getting one. Legally anyone over the age of 18 is allowed to have one.

However, there are other considerations to take into account around emotional maturity and preparedness. Legally speaking, anyone over the age of 18 is eligible for the procedure, and there is no medical referral required in order to consult with a vasectomist.

A vasectomy does not involve removing testicles, or any other body parts for that matter. As you’ll see from our procedure page a vasectomy only involves the vas deferens, which is the tube that carries sperm from your testes to your prostate gland. We don’t remove it, or even impact your ability to produce sperm; all we do is prevent your sperm from mixing with your semen.

Because a vasectomy is simply redirecting your sperm, and not completely removing your testicles, your testosterone levels will remain unchanged. This means you won’t notice any difference to the physical features affected by testosterone production, such as facial hair, muscle mass, or voice depth.