The long‐term effects of vasectomy on sexual behaviour

Abstract

Two hundred soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army who had undergone vasectomy at least 4 years earlier were interviewed by a pretested questionnaire to determine the incidence and nature of any changes in sexual behaviour after the operation. Fifty-six percent reported some change in their sexual behaviour after vasectomy. A decreased frequency of intercourse being reported by 15%, a decreased sexual desire by 19% and changes in sexual behaviour during intercourse by 33%. Seven percent reported that their wives had noticed an alteration in sexual behaviour after operation. In spite of these changes in sexual behaviour after vasectomy the majority of men (92%) reported satisfaction with the operation, which is an indication that changes in sexual behaviour cannot be attributed directly to vasectomy.

‘I’m committed to her and the family’: positive accounts of vasectomy among New Zealand men

“…The findings of Zeigler, Rodgers and colleagues in the 1960s (see Rodgers, Ziegler, Altrocchi, & Levy, 1965;Rodgers, Ziegler, & Rohr, 1963;Ziegler, Rodgers, & Kriegsman, 1966;Ziegler, Rodgers, & Prentiss, 1969) established much of the 'taken for granted' assumptions we now have about vasectomy, which were followed (and further developed) by a handful of key references through to the early 1980s (e.g., Bourgeois & Audebert, 1974;Dias, 1983;Kohli & Sobrero, 1973;Kohli & Sobrero, 1975;Mumford, 1983). Interest in vasectomy arose again with the work of Miller and colleagues in the early 1990s (Miller, Shain, & Pasta, 1990, 1991a, 1991b, 1991c, their work helping to establish another small flurry of activity (e.g., Ringheim, 1993;Rogstad, 1996;Vernon, Ojeda, & Vega, 1991).…”

Does vasectomy have long‐term effects on somatic and psychological health status?

“…In agreement with the review made of this subject by Richards et al (1981) we believe that vasectomy causes very little or no change in hormone levels or the pituitary-testicular axis. In addition, Dias (1983a) found no change in testicular volume 1 year after vasectomy.…”

“…According to studies reported by Bourget et al (1983), Dias (1983bDias ( , 1988, Goebel & Ortmann (1987), Jouannet (1982) and Santiso et al (1981Santiso et al ( , 1985, more than 90% of men interviewed say they are satisfied with having had a vasectomy. However, it is difficult to understand exactly what the variables are which have influenced this satisfaction (apart, of course, from the fact that these men are sure that they will no longer procreate).…”

“…However, it is difficult to determine how to consider the results of these studies. The variables studied are often different from one author to another; Bourget et al (1983) studied sexual desire, while Santiso et al (1981) considered satisfaction in sex life and Dias (1983b) linked sex life to conjugal relations. The method of measuring the satisfaction expressed after vasectomy begs several questions, especially concerning sexuality.…”

Evaluación de la satisfacción sexual masculina posterior a la vasectomía

“…La evaluació n de la funció n sexual ha sido discutida en la literatura 3,4 Los problemas sexuales posterior a este procedimiento de contracepció n masculina oscilan entre el 1-3% 5 . En nuestro conocimiento existe una sola publicació n que utiliza el Índice Internacional de la Funció n Eré ctil (IIFE) para evaluar esta cuestió n 6 .…”