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‘No-scalpel vasectomy’ to be available in two years

Medical equipment for surgery purposes, blue light - Stock image
Medical equipment for surgery purposes, blue light - Stock image

It’s being touted as the “no-scalpel vasectomy” that can be reversed with a simple “injection of a sodium bicarbonate solution”.

Stellenbosch University said on Wednesday that Vasalgel‚ a new method of male contraception‚ “is expected to become available within the next two years”.

“If successful‚ this will drastically change the field of contraception‚” said Stellenbosch University urologist Dr Amir Zarrabi.

 “It will give couples a lot of flexibility. They will have a safe and reliable form of contraception – with no hormonal effects or other side-effects – that can be reversed when they want to start a family.”

 Vasalgel‚ like a conventional vasectomy‚ “blocks the flow of sperm from the testicles to the penis‚ but instead of severing the tube that carries sperm (called the vas deferens) a gel is injected into the tube forming a barrier that blocks sperm‚ but allows other fluids to pass through”.

If a couple decide to try have children‚ “the Vasalgel can be flushed from the vas deferens with an injection of a sodium bicarbonate solution”‚ a statement from the university explained.

 Zarrabi said Vasalgel does not require surgery‚ and eliminates “risks‚ like bleeding or infection‚ and…post-vasectomy pain due to pressure build-up in the testicles”.

 Human testing is already under way‚ but the “reversal has only been attempted in animal studies where it showed rapid restoration of sperm flow”.

The urologist also warned that Vasalgel “does not offer any protection against the transmission of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV”.

 Zarrabi said: “The idea of the ‘male pill’ was abandoned a couple of years ago and most new research has been focusing on intra-vas devices like the Vasagel.

 “It sounds counter-intuitive‚ but to lower testosterone in the testicles‚ you have to increase testosterone levels in die blood. But study after study showed that there were too many unpleasant side-effects‚” said Zarrabi.

Those side-effects included aggression‚ depression‚ fatigue‚ low libido‚ high blood pressure and an increase in cholesterol levels. – TMG Digital

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