Surgeon Accidentally Gives Wrong Patient Vasectomy

#1

A surgeon has been suspended after accidentally performing a vasectomy on a patient undergoing a minor operation at Royal Liverpool Hospital.

#2

The surgeon's ‘catastrophic' blunder meant the unnamed patient, thought to be of an age at which he hoped to father children, was left sterile.

Doctors, who were meant to be performing a straightforward urological procedure, apologised unreservedly and operated again to reverse the vasectomy.

#3

A vasectomy involves cutting or blocking two tubes in the male reproductive tract, called the vas deferens, so that sperm can no longer get into semen. As a result, the man is permanently unable to get a woman pregnant. According to The Family Doctor, the doctor will make a small incision in the scrotum and pull out a part of the vas deferen. They will then remove a section of the vas deferen and seal the ends with small clamps. The procedure takes around half an hour to complete, and is usually done while the patient is awake and numbed with a local anesthetic.

#4

In most cases, Vasectomy is more than 99% effective and although it can be reversed, NHS England figures show that the success rate is only around 55%.

#5

It happened at Royal Liverpool Hospital in February, and the surgeon has been barred from operating while an investigation is concluded.