I have hesitated to post our story, b/c dh was labeled as one in a million, but it did happen, so others should know.
I am not going to explain or justify our decision, this thread is for vasectomies, not our beliefs one way or the other. We asked many men who have had vas about their experience and they ALL said it was a piece of cake, no problems. Dh went in and had the procedure. He drove himself home and took it easy that day, staying around the house. The incision looked normal. That night he was in some pain, but nothing that some ibuprofen couldn't handle. The next morning he was still in pain and on the side of the incision he was swollen much more then before. By now, according to the doctor's information, he should be feeling better. Later that day dh called the doctors office and explained what was happening and asked if it was normal. The nurse said yes some swelling was normal and that he was fine. We later found out that they always say that b/c most men are babies about this very sensitive spot! By now his left side was much larger than the other side and also had a blue color to it. Over the next couple days he continued to swell and ended up with his left side as big as one of those very large grapefruits. This is not an exaggeration. He was in so much pain. When we finally realized that he was not fine as the nurse had said, about three days later, he again called the doc, only to find out he was away on vacation. His associate refused to see him stating that since he did not do the operation he would not see him. Now my dh has a very high tolerance for pain. He is the one who gets root canals and tooth extractions w/o any novacaine!!!! But this was too much for him. He couldn't work, was constantly taking OTC drugs, and spent a lot of time in bed.
Finally one night he couldn't take the pain anymore and went to the ER. After waiting for three hours, they took him in, looked at his left side and refused to treat him. They said go back to the doctor who did this.
Now, dh did not have an infection, he had no fever, the incision itself was healing nicely. He just had one very large t*sticule. With lots of pain. He kept returning to the original doc office hoping his office mate would see him. He eventually did, but again, he refused to touch him for fear of being involved with something that could turn into a legal battle.
After living like this for 3 weeks, the original doc finally saw him. By this time I was really getting scared. The doc's office had a policy that no spouses be allowed into appointments, but I demanded that I be allowed back with dh. When the doc finally saw his handiwork, he cursed at what he saw. That is how bad it was. His diagnosis was that dh was what he called a bleeder. Apparently at some time during the procedure, something caused him to start bleeding and he never stopped bleeding. The procedure was scalpel free. We never did find out what was bleeding and what caused it. When bleeding occurs in the t*sticules, there is nothing to stop the blood flow. The t*sticule will enlarge to accommodate the blood. Dh has never had bleeding problems b/f. When he gets cut, the bleeding stops like normal. So we really aren't sure what happened in this case. The doc said he hadn't seen anything like it in 30 years.
Anyway, doc reopened the original incision, made another incision about an inch to the side and then threaded some gauze through the two holes to make a "wick" to wick out the blood. He was to take hot baths 3X a day to help the blood out. Sounds bizarre, I know. As I am typing this I can hardly believe it myself and I was there. The wick did help some, but not fast enough. Back to the doc. By now I was pretty much in panic mode and lashed out at the doc. He snapped back at me and announced that he was trying to save my dh t*sticule and dh's life. Of course that just put me further into panic mode. Dh's LIFE???!!!! This was to be a simple procedure!!!
After contemplating what to do, the doc said he was going to do something radical. He graciously allowed me to be there. I am so thankful for that. He numbed dh's left side and then made a 2 inch incision.
Dh could still feel the pain. I was up at his head holding his hands. The doc fished around inside with his fingers to check everything out. He checked all the parts and said they were fine. Then he pulled out a blood clot that was huge!! He put it in a measuring cup which measured 1/2 cup!! For all you men, look at a 1/2 measuring cup and imagine that much inside!!! It was unbelievable!! Even the doc couldn't believe it.
After having the blood clot out, dh said his pain diminished to almost nothing. He only had the incision to deal with. Which still took awhile to heal. It took him 2 years to recover, not just physically but also mentally. The scar tissue is sensitive and the area is sensitive to pressure. We are thankful that he has no constant pain. I was sure after all that, he would be in constant pain. Who knows what the future holds for him in that area. That is in the Lords hands.
Dh wanted me to say that this was not meant to scare anyone. His was a very, very rare case. We have never come across anyone else who has had these problems. From my perspective, I would not have it done. From dh perspective, well you will have to ask him yourself.
His perspective is not what you would think.
hth
mauimom
