When you arrive at Dr. Pollock's office you are taken into the procedure room. There you can select the tape or CD of your choice to be played during the procedure. Alternatively you are welcome to bring your own CD which we will be happy to play. You keep your shoes and socks on and simply lower your pants, underwear and athletic support. You lay down on the table, and then your scrotal area is cleansed. An elastic is then gently placed around your penis which is lifted back away from the scrotum. The elastic is then clipped to your shirt. You are then covered with a surgical drape and the scrotum is brought through an opening in the drape. After putting a little freezing solution into the scrotal skin, (not into the testicle), you should not feel anything.

The freezing is accomplished using the no needle anesthetic method. This involves an air jet injector that delivers a spray of anesthetic under high pressure through the skin, virtually painlessly and very effectively.

Virtually never are oral sedative medications required.

Once the area is frozen, Dr. Pollock locates the tubes one at a time. He gently holds each tube between his fingertips, and grasps them with a specially designed ringed clamp. With a pair of special forceps, he makes one tiny puncture into the skin of the scrotum. This small line "l" , approximately 2 millimetres, represents the true size of the puncture. With the same instrument he gently lifts the first tube out through this opening.

You should be aware that once the tubes have been brought out through the tiny 2mm opening in the scrotum, approaches among physicians on how to block them differ. For example, some procedures involve just cutting and tying the ends of the tube. Others cauterize (burn) the ends. Still others affix metal titanium clips to the ends. Combinations of any of these are also possible. Dr. Pollock prefers to use a highly-effective and safe technique known as the Schmidt method, developed by American urologist Stanwood Schmidt (description follows).

Once the sperm tube (1.) is lifted out of the scrotum, it is cut and the upper end (abdominal) is cauterized. The cauterization on the end of the tube stimulates the formation of a strong scar that blocks the tube. This procedure is carried out on both sperm tubes.

* Some studies suggest that when the tube is cut, the testicular end should be left open (called Open Vasectomy), and that doing this may, in fact, reduce the likelihood of post-vasectomy pain. Further studies are needed. The open-ended vasectomy is the technique currently performed at the Pollock Clinics.

Dr. Pollock then carries out the next step (3.), that some studies suggest increases the success of the procedure, called fascial interposition. This step involves bringing the fascial sheath, or covering of the sperm tube, over one end of the cut tube to create a natural barrier between the two cut ends. Fascial interposition can be carried out using titanium clips or with a dissolvable thread. Dr. Pollock’s preference is to use a dissolvable thread, thereby leaving no foreign metal bodies in the scrotum.

Dr. Pollock then gently places the separated ends back in the scrotum, and the same procedure is done through the same small opening on the other sperm tube. The opening is finally covered with a gauze pad, and you can pull up your athletic support and clothes. In Dr. Pollock’s hand the one small skin opening is so tiny that it closes itself without the need for stitches or any other skin closure material. This tiny opening heals quickly and virtually without a trace. You can shower after your surgery without any problems, (of course no scrubbing of the surgical area should be done).

Everyone seems to wonder what happens to the sperm after their vasectomy. The testicles will continue to produce sperm that will in turn leak out the lower ends of the cut vas tubes. The sperm cells are surrounded and broken down by the body’s waste removal cells into their component parts, which are either excreted or recycled. This process causes no concerns of any clinical significance.

To view the entire procedure. Check out the video page.

Another hallmark of Dr. Pollock’s has always been a commitment to the most meticulous surgical technique. In keeping with this philosophy, Dr. Pollock does all of his no-scalpel vasectomies under optical binocular magnification. This allows Dr. Pollock to view every element of your surgery in far greater depth and detail than could be done with the unaided eye. This is just another added feature at the Pollock Clinics that is so helpful in allowing Dr. Pollock to perform a virtually bloodless, painless 7 minute surgery.

Our procedure is so simple and easy that after having something to drink and relaxing for few minutes, men have no trouble driving home on their own. So at the Pollock Clinics, you do not have to bring a driver with you.