Until recent years, few people questioned the long-term safety of vasectomy. A couple considering vasectomy was more likely to ask a doctor about the operation itself, its effectiveness, or how it might change their sexual relationship. Things have changed.
Men considering vasectomy and their partners now want to know about long-term side effects.
Their biggest concern is hardening of the arteries or heart disease, issues raised by animal studies in the late 1970s. Researchers speculated then that sperm antibodies, produced by many men following vasectomy, could be responsible for these and other health risks. Fortunately for the millions of men with vasectomies and their families, the latest news about its long-term safety is good. Almost 40,000 men took part in four studies completed in recent years under contracts with the Institute. In fact, one study found that, for unknown reasons, men who have had vasectomies are healthier in some ways than those who have not.