How do Dr. Marks and Dr. Burrows get such high vasectomy reversal success rates in 2023?

“Can a vasectomy be reversed?” and “how successful can a vasectomy reversal be?” are common questions patients ask us. The answers are “yes, a vasectomy can be reversed with a very high success rate,” since we published a landmark research paper showing that we were able to achieve up to a remarkable 99.5% success (1) for vas-to-vas connections for most men with a vasectomy reversal.

This article, written by international authority, author and microsurgeon Sheldon H. F. Marks, MD, outlines some of the many reasons that the surgeons of ICVR can achieve a higher success with vas reversals than many other doctors.

We have discussed this question with many other top experts and have listed below some of the reasons why we believe that we can offer a much higher reverse vasectomy success in 2023 than so many others. One of the world’s leading academic experts explained that our high success is the reason that Dr. Marks is frequently asked to be the instructor and teach other doctors about reversal techniques at international courses.

1 We are a full time, vas reversal only Center of Excellence. Microsurgical vas reversals are all we do, every day, Monday to Friday. Many urologists perform only an occasional vasectomy reversal as part of a busy general urology practice. To them, vasectomy reversals may just be a hobby or special interest (2).

2 Each doctor limits his practice to just one vas reversal a day. This way, each patient gets the surgeon’s full, undivided attention to detail without pressure to move fast, rushing to get to the next vas reversal or are fatigued from earlier surgeries. Our doctors are not in a hurry.  We have the luxury of time to allow the doctor to give each patient the highest chance for a successful vasectomy reversal with the fewest complications.

3 We do not allow doctors-in-training to learn how to perform a reverse vasectomy on our patients. The chosen ICVR vas reversal microsurgeon performs the entire surgery, from start to finish. Medical students, urology residents and fellows are not involved in the procedure or patient care.

4We use only the highest quality microsurgical instruments, custom microsutures and a high-power Leica surgical microscope. A surgeon, like any skilled craftsman, is only as good as the tools they use. We will not cut corners and use cheaper sutures, instruments or a training microscope with inadequate or junior support staff.

5 The doctors, never satisfied to do what we always did, are constantly striving to challenge themselves to improve on reverse vasectomy patient care, decision-making and surgical techniques. Almost every day Dr. Marks and Dr. Burrows meet to talk about that day’s vas reversals as well as prior surgeries to identify ways to continuously improve and provide better care than the day before. They both firmly believe that every surgeon should never be satisfied with the status quo, always seeking to learn, understanding that patient care is not static but rather is an evolving art and science. In fact, this was the motivation when we invented a specialized instrument that has increased our vas reversal success, used all over the world, the Marks Vas Cutting Forceps (1).

6 We have performed many thousands of successful vasectomy reversals over many decades. We have learned and perfected critical, very challenging microsurgical skills on more than 7000 patients from every state in the USA and more than 85 countries around the world, so that every patient can be assured of receiving the very highest level of care and success rate. This translates to the better chances to have the dream of children come true.

7 We are urologists, the only specialty trained in understanding and care of male reproduction, hormones and urologic surgery, with many decades of urology practice to better handle subtle issues and challenges before, during and after the vasectomy reversal that some non-urologists might not understand.

8 The doctors of ICVR have published an important paper demonstrating that we are able to achieve high vas reversal success rate in men who are more than 20 to 42 years from vasectomy, the world record. This means that the interval of obstruction is not the deciding factor as so many mistakenly believe (4). In fact, our patient who was 42 years from vasectomy now has a beautiful 19 year-old daughter who recently had her own daughter!

9. Lastly and perhaps the key factor is that we know what we know, and more importantly, we know what we don’t know. We understand that having a vasectomy reversal is not the goal. No one dreams of having a reverse vasectomy. Rather, a precision microsurgical vas reversal is the step men take to restore fertility after vasectomy. It is just the beginning of a process that takes time. Often continued and close aftercare is critical to get fertility back to be able to make a child and achieve a couple’s dream of a family, the natural way we were all designed.

Dr. Marks teaches many courses over the past 15+ years to other doctors about how to perform vasectomy reversals as well as the author of the only textbook manual on vasectomy reversals by Springer, the “Rolls Royce” of medical textbooks (3). His book has received glowing reviews from respected vas reversal colleagues in top fertility journals.

Our team of professionals are here to answer any questions. Please call us at (888) 722-2929 . When ready, we offer free consultations with either Dr. Marks or Dr. Burrows by phone, in office, Zoom, Skype or Face Time most days, some evenings and even weekends.

This page was reviewed, edited and updated January 4, 2023 by Sheldon Marks, MD.

References:

1.Crosnoe LE, Kim ED, Perkins AR, Marks MB, Burrows PJ, Marks SH. Angled vas cutter for vasovasostomy: technique and results. Fertility and Sterility.2014;101(3):636-639.
2.Crain DS, Roberts JL, Amling CL. Practice patterns in vasectomy reversal surgery: results of a questionnaire study among practicing urologist. J Urol 2004;171(1):311-5.
3.Marks SHF. Vasectomy Reversal: Manual of Vasovasostomy and Vasoepididymostomy. New York; Springer; 2018.
4.Mui P, Perkins A, Burrows PJ, Marks SF, Turek PJ. The need for epididymostomy at vasectomy reversal plateaus in older vasectomies: a study of 1229 cases. Andrology 2014;2(1):25-9.