NSVI Vasectomy (No Scalpel Vasectomy International) – 2015 Mission
In February 2015, the 13th NSVI (No-Scalpel Vasectomy) mission took place in the Philippines.
The 2015 Philippines mission involved the largest team in the history of NSVI missions. Our missions in the Philippines, especially of this size, would never be possible without months of preliminary work by our Philippine domestic team and weeks of effort by our Board to inform local communities and prepare the facilities for our arrival.
Ten visiting vasectomists and four support members from six countries shared their skills and knowledge with students of Southwestern University College of Medicine. We also trained six doctors in vasectomy who came for the training from Davao and Mindanao.
Below, the international NSVI team
Below is a film about vasectomy and its importance in the Philippines (in English):
In 2015 we visited 3 different mission sites, all on one island: in Cebu and in Tuburan. We all had cameras (at least in our phones) and we all (besides doing vasectomies) took photos. It was very hard to choose the ones that would convey the essence of our mission and its atmosphere, but below is a sample.
Day 1:
Tuesday 3 February: The mission begins at Sacred Heart Hospital in Cebu
If you don’t like posing for photos, you won’t survive an NSVI Philippines mission. Here is a group photo, taken before we even started.
The media took an interest in our work (i.e. vasectomy). NSVI Director of Development Doug Stein presented our goals…
Meanwhile the rest of the team prepared the procedure rooms and then began performing vasectomies.
Day 2:
Wednesday 4 February: Vasectomy was the main topic of the press conference.
The medical university hosting us is also the alma mater of NSVI’s founders.
Dr Suarez (founder and funder) presented the history of NSVI, while Dr Stein described needle-free vasectomy anaesthesia – using the MadaJet.
The press was fascinated that one of the NSVI participants, Dr Robert Kulik, had come at his own expense from a country as distant as Poland.
After a second hard day at Sacred Heart Hospital (SHH), Dr Alex Lemkaking, a Filipino-American urologist from Maryland (kneeling next to Dr Suarez), invited the whole NSVI team to an elegant club for dinner. Alex has supported NSVI missions for years, for which he has been honoured as an honorary team member.
Day 3:
Thursday 5 February: Vasectomy in Danao, BMA Party in Tuburan
The Provincial Hospital in Danao proved to be an ideal facility for a team as large as ours. The room was bright, spacious and full of narrow tables – ideal conditions for vasectomists working in pairs.
Many variants of vas occlusion are used around the world today. They have different advantages and disadvantages. One of the best aspects of a meeting of a large group of vasectomists from different backgrounds is the opportunity to collaborate and exchange ideas and techniques. NSVI vasectomy missions are a place where our members share experience and keep learning.
Special praise goes to Elizabeth Davis (bottom left corner, second from left), who is Dr Sarah Miller’s right hand in the USA. Elizabeth, together with Felicity, Lucy and Debbie, sterilised our instruments.
A meal in the Philippines is always a pleasant cultural and culinary adventure. The fishing port in Danao is a wonderful place to try fresh seafood caught that morning.
After lunch, our patients and the local staff gladly posed for photos with members of our NSVI team.
Mission director Dr Bob Kiamco consulted patients at the Tuburan District Hospital.
…in the procedure room…
…you could meet and watch the world’s best vasectomists – in action.
Dr Michel Labrecque – a giant of world vasectomy – from Canada.
Next to Michel Labrecque, another giant of world vasectomy, Dr Nicolas Demediuk from Australia
A few days later…
Day 7:
Monday 9 February: Back at Sacred Heart Hospital and a visit to the local prison
While travelling around East Asia with his family, Dr Michel Labrecque, a world scientific authority on vasectomy and one of its best teachers, joined NSVI for the last 3 days of the mission. Through the warden, our team offered NSVI vasectomy services to the inmates of the local prison, which met with great interest.
Over lunch, we learned that 72 inmates wanted to take advantage of the free service, since condoms are not allowed during conjugal visits and unwanted pregnancies are quite common among inmates’ partners.
The prison is located in the mountains above Cebu. Visiting it and getting to know the life of the prison community, its culture and its programmes was an interesting experience for us.
For the NSVI team members it was another opportunity to work together and exchange experience.
Dr Laurel Spooner, the leading vasectomy trainer in England, and Prof Jay Sandlow, the most enthusiastic promoter of vasectomy training among American doctors, an experienced reversal surgeon (restoring patency after vasectomy) and one of the co-authors of the American Urological Association’s Vasectomy Guidelines.
Our farewell dinner was an occasion to celebrate a successful mission and forge new, lasting friendships.
Dr Peter Asnar, dean of the SWU Medical School, was our gracious host and greatest supporter. He issued certificates of appreciation to all participants of our mission.
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