A slight risk will always remain that a vasectomy could spontaneously reverse itself over time, if the ends of the cut come together on their own. But I wouldn't recommend going into a vasectomy thinking you might want to undo it later. Yes, deliberate reversal is possible and has been successful in some 90 percent of men who change their minds from three to eight years after the vasectomy. Their partners have enjoyed pregnancy rates of 50 to 70 percent. But this is a technically demanding procedure and you can't count on it.
Reversal depends first of all on how the vasectomy was done.
Also important is the skill of the surgeon doing the microsurgery. I like the approach suggested by Dr. Carl Djerassi, inventor of the birth-control pill. He suggests that men have vasectomies as a matter of course, but first preserve their sperm in liquid nitrogen refrigerators at frozen storage facilities. Then they can still have children, if they desire, using artificial insemination. Inc. All rights reserved.