Less-invasive alternative to vasectomy

Sep 13 2010

Pro-Vas® – the new faster, less-invasive alternative to traditional vasectomy – was featured Thursday in millions of homes and doctors' offices across the nation on "The Doctors" TV show. This nationally syndicated show highlights significant advancements in the world of health and medicine.

Pro-Vas is a revolutionary new approach to vasectomy – the most common elective surgical procedure performed on men. Well over a half-million vasectomies are performed each year in the United States.

With a traditional vasectomy, both vas deferens are cut, a segment is removed, and the ends are cauterized (burned) and then sutured. With the new approach, a tiny titanium torsion spring clip is attached on each un-severed vas using a special pre-loaded surgical applier that atraumatically stops the flow of sperm. The new procedure takes only half the time of a traditional vasectomy, and can be performed in a doctor's office. Most men can resume their normal activities by the second day.

"Patients have been especially impressed with the idea of a faster, less-invasive procedure," said Dr. Douglas Swartz, a urological surgeon in Jacksonville, Florida. "The new procedure also promotes a faster recovery time because less tissue is traumatized during surgery. Patients appreciate the fact that with Pro-Vas, vasectomy can now be performed without cutting or excising the vas, a possible advantage in case they ever decide in the future to reverse the vasectomy. I believe this new procedure is going to increase the number of vasectomies performed in the U.S. because of decreased pain and swelling. The word will get around," Dr. Swartz said.

Men who have undergone the new vasectomy procedure already are singing its praises.

"There were a couple of features that stood out: it's much less invasive, and there was a quicker healing time," said a middle-aged Pro-Vas patient from northern Florida. "There was definitely less discomfort than I was expecting. The other thing I liked was that you aren't detaching something that is supposed to be attached."

Bill Dennis, CEO of MenRx Surgical of Jacksonville, Florida, the inventor of the new device, said: "Pro-Vas occlusion is like a tubal-ligation for men. Many men don't like the idea of cutting their sperm duct or unnecessarily traumatizing their anatomy." Dennis added: "All treatments conducted to date have been successful and patients are now beginning to tell other men about their positive experiences. Because the vasectomy market is so large, we believe investors also will take notice." Pro-Vas is cleared by the FDA for marketing in the United States.

SOURCE MenRx Surgical LLC