Vasectomy surgeries increase during March Madness
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harvard guard Wesley Saunders (23) takes a shot while defended by New Mexico center Alex Kirk (53) during the second half of their second round NCAA tournament basketball game in Salt Lake City, Utah. (REUTERS/Jim Urquhart)
Now that the “March Madness” NCAA basketball tournament has arrived, many male basketball fans may be looking for the perfect excuse to lounge in front of the television all week. Some doctors are saying they have the perfect solution: Get a vasectomy.
Urology Ltd of Elgin Illinois is starting a new clinical promotion this week, by offering a “3-Point Shot” plan – one vasectomy, one free pizza, and one weekend excuse to watch college basketball, the Daily Herald reported.
According to the clinic, they are seeing an uptick in men getting the procedure around this time. However, the promotion is not meant to encourage more men to get vasectomies.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The whole idea of the ad is to capture those guys who were thinking about watching the games anyhow and were also thinking about getting a vasectomy,” Dr. Timothy Roth, one of the urologists at Urology Ltd, told the Daily Herald. “We're not trying to get the people who say, 'Vasectomy, oh, that looks interesting.'"
A vasectomy involves cutting and sealing the vasa deferintia, tubes in the reproductive system that carry sperm. According to the Mayo Clinic, the surgery takes only about 15 to 20 minutes, but men are advised to limit their activity afterwards, and rest for one to two days. Many men schedule the procedure on a Thursday or Friday so they can have the weekend to relax.
While the NCAA tournament lasts longer than the recovery period for a vasectomy, doctors say this is a good excuse for men to catch a few games while enjoying pizza.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vasectomies are the fourth most popular form of birth control, behind condoms, hormonal methods and tubal ligation, according to the American Urological Association.