So you made the decision to get a vasectomy reversal. Congrats! You have an exciting journey ahead of you! However, it’s best to take a step back and make sure your expectations are appropriate. Fertility can be a long path in some cases, so, it’s important to recognize what are the best cases, worst cases, and most likely cases with any treatment.
The average time to conception following reversal is 12-17 months. In our experience, there typically are two most common phases of pregnancy: the early group (<6 months) and the later group (>16 months). Although pregnancies do occur between these two groups, they are less common overall. Why the different groups? We don’t know for sure, but it is likely that it has to do with how the repair heals. Soon after surgery, sperm are going across the repairs, and these can lead to pregnancy right away in some cases. After several months, the repair narrows as a part of the overall healing process. This narrowing can take 6-18 months or more to open up again, and in some cases (about 18%) it will remain closed permanently. Once the narrowing opens more, this leads to a return of sperm again, and pregnancy rates increase. It’s important to recognize that every couple is different.
That doesn’t mean you don’t have any control over things! Working with our team, we can continue to monitor sperm counts through mail-in samples. You can also work with biology to increase your chance of conception. Planning intercourse to occur daily beginning 5 days prior to ovulation and continuing for 1 day after will optimize the chances for achieving a pregnancy each month.
Sometime a plan b is necessary. If sperm counts fail to return, or if you are unable to achieve a pregnancy after a period of time (and that time will vary with each couple), in-vitro fertilization or a repeat reversal may be appropriate.
The bottom line? Getting pregnant after a vasectomy reversal is a process, and it sometimes can be a long one. There are many factors at play, and in some cases, you may not have control over many of these. Don’t become discouraged if you’re not pregnant after only a few months following the reversal. But when it happens, we assure you it will be worth the wait. Questions or concerns? Feel free to give us a call – (888) 655-0015.
