A randomized clinical trial of the effect of intraoperative saline perfusion on postvasectomy azoospermia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We wanted to determine whether a saline flush during vasectomy would reduce the time needed to reach azoospermia. METHODS: During vasectomy men were randomly assigned to flush the prostatic end of the vas deferens with 10 mL of normal saline (intervention group, n = 50), while the remaining men (n = 56) served as controls. Sperm counts were performed on the immediate postprocedure urine specimen and on semen samples at 1, 6, and 12 weeks after vasectomy. RESULTS: The postprocedure urine specimens from the intervention and control groups contained 29.2 × 106 and 0.004 × 106 sperm, respectively (P < .001). Total sperm counts in the ejaculate for intervention and control groups at 1, 6, and 12 weeks were (in millions of sperm): 14.1 and 13.8, 0.4 and 8.0, and 0.0 and 0.011, respectively (P > .05 at all time points). There was no difference in the rate at which the men in the 2 groups achieved azoospermia. CONCLUSIONS: Vasal perfusion with saline during vasectomy was effective in removing sperm from the distal vas; however, perfusion did not increase the rate at which men achieve azoospermia.