directions are given, all food and drink should be withheld after midnight and on the morning of the surgery. stop taking aspirin, or any medications containing ibuprofen (advil, motrin, aleve), at least 10 days prior to vasectomy reversal, as these medications have a side effect that can reduce platelet function and therefore lower blood clotting ability. be prepared to be driven home or to a hotel after the vasectomy reversal after the procedure, patients should perform the following tasks: remove dressings from inside the athletic supporter in 48 hours; continue with the scrotal support for 1 week. shower once the dressings are removed. wear athletic supporter at all times for the first 4 weeks. apply frequent ice packs (or frozen peas, any brand) to the scrotum the evening after the vasectomy reversal and the day after that for 24 hours to reduce swelling. take prescribed pain medication as directed. resume a normal, well-balanced diet upon returning home or to the hotel. drinks plenty of fluids. normal, non-vigorous activity can be restarted after 48 hours or when feeling better. activities that cause discomfort should be stopped for the time being. heavy activities such as jogging and weight lifting can be resumed in 2 to 4 weeks depending on the particular procedure. refrain from sexual intercourse for 4 weeks depending on the procedure and the surgeon’s recommendations. the semen is checked for sperm at between 6 and 12 weeks post-operatively and then depending on the results may be requested monthly semen analyses are then obtained for about 6 months or until the semen quality stabilizes. you may experience discomfort after the vasectomy reversal. symptoms that may not require a doctor's attention are: (a) light bruising and discoloration of the scrotal skin and base of penis. this will take one week to go away. b) limited scrotal swelling (a grapefruit is too large); (c) small amounts of thin, clear, pinkish fluid may drain from the incision for a few days after reversal surgery. keep the area clean and dry and it will stop. if you received general anesthesia, a sore throat, nausea, constipation, and general "body ache" may occur. these problems should resolve within 48 hours. consider calling a provider for the following issues: (a) wound infection as suggested by a fever, a warm, swollen, red and painful incision area, with pus draining from the site. antibiotics are necessary to treat this. (b) scrotal hematoma as suggested by extreme discoloration (black and blue) of the skin and continuing scrotal enlargement from bleeding underneath. this can cause throbbing pain and a bulging of the wound. if the scrotum continues to hurt more and continues to enlarge after 72 hours, then it may need to be drained. biological considerations sperm are produced in the male sex gland or testicle. from there they travel through tubes (efferent tubules), exit the testes and enter a “storage site” or epididymis. the epididymis is a single, 18-foot-long (5.5 m), tightly coiled, small tube, within which sperm mature to the point where they can move, swim and fertilize eggs. testicular sperm are not able to fertilize eggs naturally (but can if they are injected directly into the egg in the laboratory), as the ability to fertilize eggs is developed slowly over several months of storage in the epididymis. from the epididymis, a 14-inch, 3 mm-thick muscular tube called the vas deferens carries the sperm to the urethra near the base of the penis. the urethra then carries the sperm through the penis during ejaculation. a vasectomy interrupts sperm flow within the vas deferens. after a vasectomy, the testes still make sperm, but because the exit is blocked, the sperm die and eventually are reabsorbed by the body. a problem in the delicate tubes of epididymis can develop over time after vasectomy. the longer the time since the vasectomy, the greater the “back-pressure” behind the vasectomy. this “back-pressure” may cause a “blowout” in the delicate epididymal tubule, the weakest point in the system. the blowout may or may not cause symptoms, but will probably scar the epididymal tubule, thus blocking sperm flow at second point. to summarize, with time, a man with a vasectomy can develop a second obstruction deeper in the reproductive tract that can make the vasectomy more difficult to reverse. having the skill to detect and fix this problem during vasectomy reversal is the essence of a skilled surgeon. if the surgeon simply reconnects the two freshened ends of the vas deferens without examining for a second, deeper obstruction, then the procedure can fail, as sperm-containing fluids are still unable to flow to the place of the connection. in this case, the vas deferens must be connected to the epididymis in front of the second blockage, to bypass both blockages and allow the sperm to reenter the urethra in the ejaculate. since the epididymal tubule is much smaller (0.3 mm diameter) than the vas deferens (3 mm diameter, 10-fold larger), epididymal surgery is far more complicated and precise than the simple vas deferens-to-vas deferens connection. prevalence vasectomy is a common method of contraception worldwide, with an estimated 40-60 million individuals having the procedure and 5-10% of couples choosing it as a birth control method. in the usa, about 2% of men later go on to have a vasectomy reversal afterwards. however the number of men inquiring about vasectomy reversals is significantly higher - from 3% to 8% - with many "put off" by the high costs of the procedure and pregnancy success rates (as opposed to "patency rates") only being around 55%. 90% of men are satisfied with having had the procedure. while there are a number of reasons that men seek a vasectomy reversal, some of these include wanting a family with a new partner following a relationship breakdown / divorce, their original wife/partner dying and subsequently going on re-partner and to want children, the unexpected death of a child (or children - such as by car accident), or a long-standing couple changing their mind some time later often by situations such as improved finances or existing children approaching the age of school or leaving home. patients often comment that they never anticipated such situations as a relationship breakdown or death (of their partner or child) may affect their situation. a small number of vasectomy reversals are also performed in attempts to relieve post-vasectomy pain syndrome. in the uk, 16% of all men under 70 have had a vasectomy, and with remarriages accounting for 40% of all marriages, there are a significant proportion of men finding themselves in a new relationship and regretting their decision to have a vasectomy. combined with longer life histories, the rate of divorce and remarriage is thought to be driving the increase in vasectomy reversals and inquiries for vasectomy reversals in recent times. history technical advances in vasectomy reversal mirror those in microsurgery over the past 100 years. as a discipline, microsurgery was first performed by carl nylen in sweden for middle ear surgery in 1910, but grew most rapidly as a discipline in the 20th century stimulated by its success in microvascular reconstruction of war-injured soldiers. the first microsurgical vasectomy reversal was performed by earl owen in 1971.