A quarter of the men who had vasectomies at a Cleveland clinic did not return for any follow-up tests to be sure that the procedure had worked.
Only a fifth of the 436 men came for both of the tests needed to put them in the clear, according to a study carried out by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Glickman Urological Institute.
Of the 75 percent who did attend their first eight-week test, three out of 83 were still producing active sperm. Six months after their procedure, eight men were still producing positive sperm samples, reported an article in BJU International, the official journal of the British Association of Urological Surgeons.
"A quarter of them had no idea whether the procedure had worked and whether their partner could still fall pregnant," said lead author Dr. Nivedita Dhar, chief resident in urology at the clinic.
Non-compliance among vasectomy patients is typically between 25 and 40 percent, said Dr. J. Stephen Jones, who directed the study.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
