A vasectomy takes about 30 minutes, under local anaesthetic, through one small opening made without a blade. It is meant to be permanent. You keep using contraception until a semen sample is reported clear, which is not before 8 weeks. After that the chance of a pregnancy is about 1 in 2,000. The fee is £1,295.
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Any of these needs to be seen the same day. If you are severely unwell, go to your nearest emergency department or call 999.
A vasectomy closes the two tubes that carry sperm out of the testicles. Nothing else is touched. Hormones, erections and orgasm are unchanged, and the volume of what is ejaculated does not measurably alter, because sperm are a very small fraction of it. The operation is done through one opening in the skin of the scrotum, under local anaesthetic, and you walk out the same morning.American Urological Association vasectomy guideline, 2026
It is intended to be permanent. A method you stop when you change your mind is a different product, and the difference is the thing to sit with before booking rather than after. Reversal is a separate microsurgical operation, it is not something we offer, and the results are worse than most men expect before they read them.Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare FSRH clinical effectiveness unit, 2014
Most men who book one have finished having children and want the method that stops being a decision. A vasectomy is the smaller of the two permanent operations. The alternative in a couple is a general anaesthetic and an abdominal procedure for her, against 30 minutes under local anaesthetic for him.Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare FSRH clinical effectiveness unit, 2014
The men who should not book one are easier to describe. Anyone who is unsure, anyone whose partner is pushing for it more than he is, and anyone in a new relationship or a difficult year. Regret is the complication with no procedure to fix it, and consent that has not been tested is not consent.General Medical Council GMC guidance, 2020
Send us what you are seeing and we will tell you what it is likely to be.
The first half of the appointment is the decision rather than the operation. Your age, your children, how settled you are about not having more, and what you would want if your circumstances changed completely. A man who is not certain is asked to come back rather than booked, and that is a conversation with the doctor who would perform it.General Medical Council GMC guidance, 2020
Then the examination. Both tubes are felt through the skin, which is what makes the procedure straightforward or not. A previous hernia repair, an undescended testicle or scarring from earlier surgery changes the plan, and it is settled before anything is booked rather than discovered on the day.Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare FSRH service standards, 2024
The operation itself takes about 30 minutes. Local anaesthetic, one small opening made with a fine sharp clamp rather than a blade, both tubes divided and closed, and no stitches. You are walking out of the building afterwards and you should not drive yourself home.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Cook, 2014
A coil or an implant for your partner
Long acting, reversible, and its reliability does not depend on anybody remembering anything. It sits in her body rather than yours, which is the trade being made. We fit and remove both here, so a couple can compare the two properly in one conversation.Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare FSRH clinical effectiveness unit, 2023
Female sterilisation
A general anaesthetic and an abdominal operation for her. Where a couple has decided that one of the two of them should have a permanent procedure, the male one is smaller, quicker and done awake under local anaesthetic.Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare FSRH clinical effectiveness unit, 2014
A conventional incision vasectomy
Two cuts and stitches, which is how it was done before the no scalpel technique. Across the randomised trials the no scalpel approach gave less bruising, with an odds ratio of 0.23 for haematoma and 0.21 for wound infection, less pain and a shorter operation, and no difference in how well it worked.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Cook, 2014
Deciding later
Nothing about this is urgent and the appointment is not wasted if you leave without booking. The trial evidence comparing one method of closing the tubes with another is thin, and the part that reliably goes wrong is the decision rather than the technique.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Cook, 2014
A no scalpel vasectomy here
One visit, about 30 minutes, local anaesthetic, no blade and no stitches, with written aftercare and a number to call that evening. The semen analysis that confirms it worked is in the fee of £1,295 rather than billed as a second appointment afterwards.American Urological Association vasectomy guideline, 2026
Soreness and bruising for a few days, and nothing strenuous for a week. About 7% of men report pain after a no scalpel vasectomy against 24% after the conventional incision, and in about 5% the pain persists as a syndrome in its own right rather than settling.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Auyeung, 2020
The semen sample is not taken before 8 weeks. Until it is reported clear you carry on with contraception, because sperm beyond the point where the tube was closed take time and ejaculations to clear. Clear means no sperm at all, or fewer than 100,000 non-motile sperm per mL in a single fresh uncentrifuged sample examined within 2 hours.American Urological Association vasectomy guideline, 2026
After a clear sample the chance of a pregnancy is about 1 in 2,000. Up to 1 in 100 men need the procedure repeating because the tubes did not stay closed, and that is found by the test rather than by a pregnancy, which is the reason the test is not optional.American Urological Association vasectomy guideline, 2026
Answer one question out loud with your partner before the appointment rather than in the room. If your circumstances changed completely in 10 years, would you want another child. The decision turns on that answer and on nothing that happens in the treatment room, and a consent form is a poor place to meet it for the first time.General Medical Council GMC guidance, 2020
Reversal is the figure people guess at, so here it is. In the largest series, 1,469 microsurgical reversals, sperm came back in 86% of men and a pregnancy followed in 52% of couples. Within 3 years of the vasectomy those figures were 97% and 76%. At 15 years or more they were 71% and 30%. We do not offer reversal.Journal of Urology Belker, 1991
Two worries you can put down. A systematic review of 53 studies, with cohort data on more than two and a half million men, found at most a trivial association with prostate cancer that is unlikely to be causal. And the amount of fluid does not measurably change, because sperm are a very small part of what is ejaculated.JAMA Internal Medicine Bhindi, 2017
Do not buy a vasectomy while you are unsure, and be wary of anywhere that will book one the same week you first ask about it. The operation is reliable and the decision is the part that goes wrong, and reversal is not a dependable way back. We would rather lose the £1,295 than do this to a man who is not certain.Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare FSRH clinical effectiveness unit, 2014
Do not accept a quote that does not name the semen analysis. A fee for the operation alone is a fee for the part that cannot tell you whether it worked, and the test is then a second appointment and a second charge. Ask any provider what their fee includes and what happens if the first sample is not clear.Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare FSRH service standards, 2024
Do not judge it on anything other than the laboratory sample. Clearance is decided on a fresh uncentrifuged specimen looked at within 2 hours of production, and nothing else substitutes for that, including how long it has been or how many times you have ejaculated.American Urological Association vasectomy guideline, 2026
Step 1
30 minutes with the doctor who would perform it. Your circumstances, what changes if they change, the examination of both tubes, and an honest answer about whether today is the day to book anything.
Step 2
Local anaesthetic, one opening made without a blade, both tubes divided and closed, no stitches. Written aftercare and a number to call that evening if you are worried.
Step 3
A semen sample from 8 weeks, read by the laboratory and then by a doctor with you. Contraception continues until that result is clear, and a repeat is arranged in the same fee if it is not.
Ask before you book if you are not sure this is the right appointment.
£1,295 here, which covers the consultation with the doctor who performs it, the procedure under local anaesthetic and the semen analysis that confirms it worked. A lower figure elsewhere is often for the operation alone, with the confirming test billed as a separate appointment afterwards, so ask what a quote includes.
The local anaesthetic going in is the part you feel. After that it is pressure rather than pain, and soreness and bruising last a few days. About 7% of men report pain after a no scalpel vasectomy, against 24% after the older incision technique, and in about 5% it settles into a longer term pain syndrome.
Not until the semen sample is reported clear, and that sample is not taken before 8 weeks. Clear means no sperm at all, or fewer than 100,000 non-motile sperm per mL in a single fresh uncentrifuged sample examined within 2 hours of production. Until that result arrives nothing has changed.
It is not something we offer and it is not a dependable undo. In the largest published series, 1,469 microsurgical reversals, sperm returned in 86% of men and a pregnancy followed in 52% of couples. Within 3 years of the vasectomy those were 97% and 76%. At 15 years or more, 71% and 30%.
No. The tubes that carry sperm are closed and nothing else is altered. Hormones, erections and orgasm stay as they were, and the volume of what is ejaculated does not measurably change, because sperm are a very small fraction of it. What changes is that the fluid no longer contains sperm.
A systematic review of 53 studies, including cohort data covering more than two and a half million men, found at most a trivial association that is unlikely to be causal. Its authors concluded that worry about prostate cancer should not stop a man choosing vasectomy as long term contraception.
After a clear semen sample the chance of a pregnancy is about 1 in 2,000. Up to 1 in 100 men need the procedure repeated because the tubes did not stay closed, and that shows up on the test rather than as a pregnancy. No method of contraception is absolute, and this one is close.
The skin is opened with a fine sharp clamp rather than cut with a blade, and the opening is small enough to need no stitches. Across randomised trials it produced less bleeding, less bruising, fewer wound infections and a shorter operation than the conventional incision, with no difference in effectiveness.
Most men take the day of the procedure and the day after, then return to a desk. Nothing strenuous, no heavy lifting and no cycling for a week. Sex can resume when it is comfortable, usually within a week, with contraception continuing until the semen sample is reported clear.
This page is general information about a condition and it is not a diagnosis. Treatment depends on what a doctor finds when they examine you, and no outcome is guaranteed. If you are severely unwell, or if any of the warnings at the top of this page apply to you, go to your nearest emergency department or call 999.
American Urological Association
Vasectomy, AUA guidelinevasectomy guideline, 2026
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Vasectomy occlusion techniques for male sterilisationCook, 2014
Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare
Male and female sterilisation, clinical guidanceFSRH clinical effectiveness unit, 2014
Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare
Intrauterine contraception, clinical guidelineFSRH clinical effectiveness unit, 2023
Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare
Service standards for vasectomy in sexual and reproductive health servicesFSRH service standards, 2024
General Medical Council
Decision making and consentGMC guidance, 2020
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Incidence of post vasectomy pain, systematic review and meta analysisAuyeung, 2020
JAMA Internal Medicine
The association between vasectomy and prostate cancer, a systematic review and meta analysisBhindi, 2017
Journal of Urology
Results of 1,469 microsurgical vasectomy reversals by the Vasovasostomy Study GroupBelker, 1991
Written by the clinical team at The Wellness. Awaiting clinical sign off.
Tell us what is going on and a doctor will say what to book, or whether you need to be seen today.