Vasectomies: men recall final cuts and close shaves
Rob Delaney’s article about having a vasectomy (‘Could I feel what they were doing? Yes’, 12 August) brought back memories from when I had one because my wife and I did not want more children.
The surgeon gave me a local anaesthetic and I was cut above my penis. All went well and I thought it was all over and how brave I had been when I realised he had only done one side and I was only halfway through the operation.
Unlike Delaney, I did return to have my semen tested and was shown into a room and given a test tube for a sample of my semen. To help me achieve this were a few well-thumbed girlie magazines.
A week later I went back to see the doctor who told me that my semen was clear of sperm and as I left said: “Have fun!”
Name and address supplied
• I wish I had known that the preparatory shaving is available on the NHS.
In my case in 1995 I attended to this myself. Due to a hectic work schedule, the morning of the operation saw me on a mainline train from Newcastle to London, which was going to allow me home just in time to set off for the hospital.
I apologise for taking longer in the train toilet cubicle than might be considered normal. The train moved fast, swayed, and did not stop much. This complicated the procedure.
If I had known there was an option of “short back and sides” in the hospital I would undoubtedly have opted for that.
Mike Cashman
Loughton, Milton Keynes
• Delightful piece on our pieces from Rob Delaney. I had the additional challenge, as a clergyman presiding at a wedding, of taking the hand of the bride, to pass to the groom, from the hand of the man who had also recently performed my “snip”.
Rev Trevor Smith
Peverell, Plymouth
