NEW YORK (Reuters):

Many men who have a vasectomy fail to ever submit a semen sample to make sure the procedure worked. But giving them a scheduled appointment todo so may help, according to a new study.

After a vasectomy, men have to submit semen samples to make sure there is no sperm, or at least no viable sperm. Most urologists want two consecutive sperm-free samples, which means asking patients to return at least twice after their vasectomy.

However, many men fail to do so. In a study published last year, researchers at the Cleve-land Clinic Foundation found that one-quarter of the patients they followed never returned to submit a semen sample. And half didn't get a second sperm analysis as their surgeon had advised.

Follow-up appointments

In the current study, the same research team looked at whether scheduling a follow-up appointment at the time of the vasectomy would help.

As it stands, men are typically asked to simply 'drop off' a semen sample eight to 12 weeks after their surgery, explained study co-author Dr. J. Stephen Jones.

Over 18 months, Jones and his colleagues followed 228 vasectomy patients, half of whom were given a scheduled follow-up appointment and half of whom were only told to bring back a semen sample in two months.

Overall, the researchers found 84 per cent of patients with an appointment returned to give a semen sample, and nearly half complied with the instructions to provide two consecutive sperm-free samples.

That compared with 65 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, in the comparison group, the researchers report in the journal BJU International.

Most urologists want two consecutive sperm-free samples, which means asking patients to return at least twice after their vasectomy.