The usual recovery period of a patient who has undergone a vasectomy reversal procedure is one month. While your surgeon will usually give you detailed instructions on what to do during your recovery period, it would be helpful to keep a few things in mind to facilitate a faster and smoother healing process.

For starters, the evening after the vasectomy reversal procedure and up to a day after that, you will have to frequently apply ice packs to the site of the surgery in order to reduce the swelling. You will also be advised to stay in bed for the first 24 hours after the procedure and will be instructed to avoid any form of vigorous activity, such as heavy lifting. You will be prescribed pain medication, which you will have to take on time as directed by your physician. Dressings may be removed after a couple of days (again, you will be instructed by your physician whether you can do this on your own or you will have to come back to him to have it removed). You will need to continue wearing a scrotal support within seven days after the operation but you may shower once the dressings have been taken off.

An overall feeling of malaise accompanied by sore throat, nausea, and constipation may be present if you were subjected to general anesthesia. However, these should go away a couple of days after the surgery.

Your surgeon will usually advise you to refrain from engaging in sexual intercourse two to four weeks after the procedure. In some cases, you will be required not to ejaculate within a month after vasectomy reversal. So, aside from refraining from sexual intercourse, you will also have to refrain from masturbation unless specifically directed by your doctor to check for the presence of sperm. Semen analyses are usually performed every month for about six months after the vasectomy reversal operation.

Once you return home, you can resume eating your normal balanced diet. Keep hydrated by drinking lots of water. A couple of days after, you can resume regular non-vigorous activities. However, exercise sessions may only be resumed four weeks after the vasectomy reversal operation or upon the approval of your doctor.

Since your tissues have been manipulated during the vasectomy reversal, it is normal to see light bruising, discoloration, and even limited swelling in the scrotum and the base of the penis. Clear, pink-tinged fluid may also keep on draining from the surgical site. By keeping the area clean, this will eventually stop. However, if you develop fever coupled with pus draining from the site of the surgery, which has also turned warm, red, swollen, and painful, you should call your surgeon. He may prescribe antibiotics or other medication to treat the infection. You should also go back to your doctor if you notice extreme discoloration and bruising of the skin of your scrotum – when it\’s literally black and blue and gives you throbbing pain that does not go away. This could be a sign of scrotal hematoma and may need to be drained.

Now there is small chance that the reversal procedure will not work. This happens when there is a sperm blockage or the blockage happens after the surgery. When this happens, it is still safe to undergo the reversal procedure the second time around.

Author Bio: Seomul Evans is a SEO consultant for Vasectomy Reversal and a contributor for a leading Men\’s Health issues blog.

Category: Medicines and Remedies
Keywords: Health, Medical, Vasectomy, Vasectomy Reversal, Infertility, men\\\’s health