Policy number: MSEICB 081
Policy name: Male sterilisation (Vasectomy) under General Anaesthetic (GA)
Status: Individual Prior Approval
Effective date: 1 April 2023
Next review date: 1 April 2024
Mid and South Essex ICB commissions male sterilisation (Vasectomy) under General Anaesthetic (GA) on a restricted basis.
Vasectomy performed under local anaesthetic (LA) is routinely commissioned within Primary Care.
Sterilisation is an irreversible method of contraception. The surgery involves cutting the tubes that carry sperm from a patient’s testicles so that when they ejaculate, the semen has no sperm in it and cannot fertilise another person’s egg.
Vasectomy, tubal occlusion, and other methods of contraception should be discussed with all patients requesting sterilisation irrespective of their gender. They should be advised that vasectomy is safer, quicker to perform and is associated with less morbidity than laparoscopic sterilisation for women/ people assigned female at birth.
Counselling: the patient is aware that the procedure is permanent but has a failure rate, and that reversal is not funded on the NHS (except via Exceptional Clinical Circumstances).
Where a general anaesthetic is required, it comes with associated health risks.
Vasectomy under GA will only in the following circumstances:
- Previous documented adverse reaction to local anaesthesia
OR
- Scarring or deformity distorting the anatomy of the scrotal sac or content making identification and/or control of the spermatic cord through the skin difficult to achieve.
Unless the criteria above are met, the referral for sterilisation/vasectomy under Local Anaesthetic (LA) should be made to a Primary Care Provider.
Patients not meeting the above criteria will not be funded unless there are clinically exceptional circumstances.
Individual funding requests should only be made where the patient demonstrates clinical exceptionality.
Further information on applying for funding in exceptional clinical circumstances can be found on the ICS’ website.
A downloadable version of this document is available below:
081 – MSE ICB Male sterilisation (Vasectomy) – Effective from 01.04.23 (docx, 199kb)
Male Sterilisation (Vasectomy) – Consent Form – Effective from 01.04.23 (docx, 214kb)