A review by Halpern et all examined case logs of all urologists submitted to the American Board of Urology from 2004 to 2013. Findings reveal that of the 5316 urologists represented, a majority of vasectomies were performed by high volume surgeons accounting for about 50% or more of the total number of vasectomies.
Vasectomy is a time tested safe, minimally invasive, effective form of contraception. About 500,000 vasectomies are performed yearly in the United States. All urologists are trained to perform the procedure. However, just as some urologist may devote their practice to the treatment of kidney stones or prostate cancer, it appears some also simply perform more vasectomies.
Interesting findings of the review performed include: 1) Average patient age was about 38 year old 2) The median number of vasectomies performed by urologists was fourteen. 3) The proportion of the total number of vasectomies performed by high volume surgeons (defined as performing at least twenty six vasectomies in a six month period) ranged from 49.2 to 67% of the total.
I have been performing vasectomies for over 25 years and, currently, I do about 250 procedures each year. The advantages of a high volume practice include: Staff familiar with the equipment and the procedure, and a physician who is constantly looking at how to improve the patient experience with respect to the procedure itself, and its safety and efficacy.
