As more and more men consider having vasectomies there's been increased interest in the ability to reverse this procedure.

Richard Johnston and his wife decided that they wanted to have another child almost 9 years after Richard's vasectomy. Reversing that procedure was their only option. "They do it under microscope surgery. It's probably about the same amount of pain it was to have, you know, the vasectomy. But it was worth it, I'd do it again."

Urologist William Evans says that in terms of the actual procedure a vasectomy reversal is more complicated than the initial vasectomy. "This is a highly technical procedure. It's something that requires a lot of microscopic surgical expertise. It's not done by all urologists, it's something that I have a personal interest in, something that we do here in our facility."

Dr Evans also says that there are several factors that come in to play that determine whether or not you're able to have a successful reversal. Perhaps one of the most important is the amount of time since you've had your vasectomy. "The shorter the period of time the better the results. The longer the period of time the worse results. Patients that are the ideal candidates are people who have had vasectomies less than five years ago."

Dr. Evans also says that for those candidates who have their vasectomies reversed within the five years, their success rate is 90% or better. "The pregnancy rates will be a little lower than that because there are female factors involved as well."

As for Richard and his wife, his reversal was obviously successful, little Landon Michael was born in July of last year.

Men may consider a vasectomy reversal for any number of reasons, but common factors that come into play are a re-marriage, the death of a child, or - even sometimes -- improved financial circumstances.