Vasectomy Under Local Anaesthesia Performed Free of Charge As a Family Planning Service: Complications and Results (Original Articles‪)‬

The link between global warming and unbridled population growth emphasises the urgent necessity for political action to promote effective forms of contraception. (1) Vasectomy is one of the most reliable family planning methods but is underutilised worldwide, accounting for only 5-10% of contraceptive methods, and in most African countries this figure is much lower. (2) Pregnancy rates associated with vasectomy are in the range of 0-2%, with most series reporting 1%. (3) In low-resource countries vasectomy failure rates may be higher than reported elsewhere, ranging from 3.2% to 5.2% at 36 months. (4,5) Semen analysis after vasectomy is critical to establish the success of the procedure, but many men fail to return for semen analysis. (6) As failure of vasectomy may result in litigation, couples must be counselled to use alternative contraception until semen analysis has confirmed azoospermia. (6,7)