No-scalpel Vasectomy in a Camp Approach: Follow-up, Complications and Compliance

Background: This study was done to evaluate the no scalpel technique (NSV) for vasectomy in camp approach and establish recommendations for health education and special attention to issues affecting compliance to post vasectomy instructions and post vasectomy semen analysis (PVSA). Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study of various aspects of NSV like details of procedure, characteristics, complications and compliance rate among clients who were operated in camps organized at six Primary/ Community Health Centers (PHCs/CHCs) in Vadodara district during January 2007 to November 2008. A predesigned, pretested questionnaire was used to collect information. Follow up data was gathered on all 1000 men by home/clinic visits. PVSA was done three months post procedure at camp site. Results: The mean age of clients was 37.5±13.54 years and mean duration of procedure 9.61 minutes. Six patients developed post procedure complications like hematoma (0.1%), infection (0.2%), epididymitis (0.1%) and urethral injury (0.2%) while two failures were reported. Older men and men having more than two children are least likely to follow post-vasectomy instructions or report for PVSA (P<0.001). Conclusion: The present study confirms the safety and efficacy of No-scalpel technique as a minimally invasive approach and shows promising and equivalent results of camp approach to hospital settings for delivering Family Planning Services. Age of client and the number of children were important determinants and correlated to post vasectomy compliance. Our study underscores the need of client education in a different perspective where emphasis is on those who are least likely to return for follow-up.