Does the type of suture material used for ligation of the vas deferens affect vasectomy success?
OBJECTIVE
To determine retrospectively, the outcome of vasectomies performed by five urologists over a six year period in terms of achievement of azoospermia on post vasectomy semen analysis (PVSA) and to compare the effect of the type of suture material used for ligation of the vas deferens on the vasectomy success.


METHODS
Review of PVSA results of 3005 consecutive vasectomies done in a district general hospital between November 1998 and October 2004. Patient records and vasectomy logs were reviewed and data analysed. The main outcome measure was achievement of azoospermia on PVSA.


RESULTS
The age distribution of men between the two study groups was similar. Overall compliance to provide at least two semen samples for PVSA was 73.8% and was similar between the two groups. Failure to achieve azoospermia on PVSA was seen in 3.5% men (36/1038) in the chromic catgut group and 10.1% men (110/1088) in the Vicryl group (p < 0.0001). Also, the vasectomy failure rates for individual urologists increased significantly following introduction of Vicryl.


CONCLUSIONS
In our study we noticed a three fold increase in failure to achieve azoospermia on PVSA with Vicryl as compared to chromic catgut. This study demonstrates that the type of suture material used for ligation of the vas deferens does affect the vasectomy success.
Kotwal
Sanjeev
S
Department of Urology, The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Wakefield, UK. s.kotwal@leeds.ac.uk
Sundaram
Subramanian K
SK
Rangaiah
Chandra S
CS
Agrawal
Vineet
V
Browning
Anthony J
AJ
D000328:Adult; D002398:Catgut; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011098:Polyglactin 910; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013537:Sutures; D014649:Vas Deferens; D014659:Vasectomy / Q000379:methods*
D011098:Polyglactin 910