Vasectomy – types of anaesthesia
Comparison of anaesthesia with a needle and with a high-pressure jet (no needle)
Traditional anaesthesia for vasectomy (in the figure: with needle) involves inserting a needle into the skin of the scrotum and injecting about 2 cm3 of anaesthetic around each vas deferens before the vasectomy. This makes the anaesthesia procedure itself quite painful. The new approach to anaesthetising sensitive areas of the body (shown in the figure: no needle) uses a patented system developed in the United States, which allows the doctor to inject the anaesthetic as a powerful jet without using a needle. The needle-free method provides effective anaesthesia using a much smaller amount of anaesthetic – about 0.2-0.4 cm3 per side.
Anaesthesia – local, without a needle (no needle).
A special device is used that generates a powerful, extremely thin jet of local anaesthetic. As the jet travels through the tissue, it anaesthetises everything along its path – which is why it hardly hurts at all. The patient feels only something like a light flick. This is the key difference from needle anaesthesia: a needle must first pierce unanaesthetised tissue, and only at the end, after passing through (tearing) several centimetres of sensitive tissue, is the anaesthetic delivered. Description of the vasectomy procedure – at ZdrOva in Warsaw and Katowice, vasectomy is performed without a scalpel.
The rest of the vasectomy procedure
The anaesthetised scrotal skin is spread apart with a special instrument, creating a single small opening (about 4 mm in diameter). Through this opening, the left and right vas deferens are brought out in turn; each is cauterised (coagulated), cut and secured with a special titanium clip. Each vas is then returned to the scrotum, and the spread opening contracts by itself, leaving no trace.
How long does a vasectomy take?
A vasectomy takes about 10 minutes. It is a fairly simple outpatient procedure performed under local anaesthesia without a needle, without a scalpel and without the need to suture tissue with surgical thread.
Will it hurt?
The anaesthesia prevents pain during the procedure, but you can expect mild pain sensations for a few days after the vasectomy. You should therefore take the painkillers prescribed by your doctor – which is entirely sufficient in the vast majority of cases. Apart from the prescribed medication, do not take aspirin or any other anti-inflammatory or pain medication without consulting your doctor.