Physicians pitching March Madness-themed vasectomies to male patients

As men across the country rush to fill out their March Madness brackets, doctors in Utah who are behind the Vas Madness campaign are working just as quickly to fill up their appointment books.

Doctors at University of Utah Health Care (UUHC) have launched the “Vas Madness” campaign to encourage men to undergo a vasectomy during the NCAA tournament, so that their recovery coincides with the vast number of basketball games being televised.

Doctors at UUHC’s three locations— Salt Lake City, South Jordan and Orem— are offering patients complimentary recovery kits for college basketball fans and have added extra appointments, according to a news release.

Dr. William Brant, a urologist at UUHC, said most concerns about the procedure are overblown. Brant said patients are sometimes worried about a decrease in sexual performance or testosterone, but that neither is the case. While some patients are sent home with prescription painkillers, most benefit from a regular acetaminophen.

“Men should take it very easy for a couple of days,” Brant said in the news release. “[Lie] on the county, using ice and watching TV, then slowly increase activity,” he said.

UUHC is not the only center performing March Madness-themed vasectomies. Other clinics, like the Idaho Urologic Institute, are offering free pizzas and take-home kits to patients. Virginia Urology has an entire website dedicated to their campaign, which pitches the procedure as a way to “Enjoy full days of uninterrupted basketball action from your couch.”

More than 500,000 men in the U.S. choose to undergo a vasectomy as a form of birth control each year, according to the Urology Care Foundation. The procedure, which typically takes about 20 minutes, can be performed at either a doctor’s office or a hospital. A vasectomy does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases.