ANAHEIM, CA (UroToday.com) - This study was designed to assess the impact of scheduled follow-up appointments with compliance rates post vasectomy. 228 underwent vasectomies. 114 were instructed to bring a semen sample to the office and 114 were given a follow up appointment to submit samples. All patients were instructed to submit specimens at 2 months post vasectomy and at 1-month intervals until 2 consecutive samples demonstrated azoospermia. The Compliance rates for patients given appointments was compared to the compliance rates of those simply instructed to give specimens. 96/114 of patients given appointments complied with instructions to bring the first sample at 2 months compared to 74/114 in the no-appointment group. The authors concluded that scheduling an appointment post vasectomy provides a statistically and clinically significant improvement in compliance.

Editorial Comment
This paper emphasizes the importance of scheduling semen analyses after vasectomies to improve patient compliance. Since vasectomies are a significant cause of litigation for urologists, I recomment implementing this practice. We have been doing this for several years. However, vigilance is still required. It is important to note that even in this study a significant number of individuals 58/228 (25%) did not comply with the recommendations of the surgeon.

( ABST [1928] - Infertility: Evaluation & Therapy II)

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Written by Harris M. Nagler, MD, a Contributing Editor with UroToday.

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