Treatment for post-vasectomy pain syndrome

Men who have either chronic pain or pain during certain activities following a vasectomy may be suffering from a condition called post-vasectomy pain syndrome of PVPS.

Unfortunately, post-vasectomy pain syndrome is one of the possible vasectomy side effects. If you suffer from post-vasectomy pain syndrome, or your partner does, you will want to know about the treatment options.

Symptoms

The main symptoms of post-vasectomy pain syndrome are pelvic pain, painful sensations following strenuous physical exercise, and pain during intercourse or orgasm. Some studies found that as many as a third of all men who underwent a vasectomy have ongoing pain as a result, long after the recovery period from the surgery itself has passed. Other studies concluded that post-vasectomy pain syndrome is much rarer than this. The symptoms are caused by physical changes following a vasectomy, and in some cases the fact that antisperm antibodies are present in the body, and sperm can still leak from the testicles into the pelvic cave.

Treatment

In some men, post-vasectomy pain syndrome will resolve spontaneously. Don't take this fact to mean that it is not necessary for you to seek medical treatment, since there are no guarantees. In the short term, treatment may consist of pain relief and monitoring your symptoms. In the long term, and when your post-vasectomy pain syndrome does not resolve, some men may require an additional surgery. Some sources say that a vasectomy reversal is an effective cure for post-vasectomy pain syndrome. That is probably not in mind when you went for the procedure, but some men do choose a reversal. We recommend you to first talk to the doctor who carried out the vasectomy and then also seek a second opinion, in case the post-vasectomy pain syndrome is caused by a mistake made by the initial doctor.