The small tubes (vas deferens) in your scrotum that carry sperm are cut or blocked off, so sperm can't leave your body and cause pregnancy.

Sperm cells stay in your testicles and are absorbed by your body. It is done as a day procedure under general or local anaesthesia. You can still experience an orgasm and ejaculate, but no sperm present in the ejaculate prevents conception. Male hormonal functions, including sex drive (libido), will not be affected by a vasectomy. A vasectomy is highly effective but still reversible - the reverse procedure being a vasovasostomy.

Are vasectomies effective?

A vasectomy is close to being a hundred per cent effective, but there is a slight chance that the tubes can reattach, which means sperm can leave your body and cause a pregnancy. Right after a vasectomy, sperm can still exit your body which is why at a follow-up appointment, your urologist will check for signs of this before you can stop any other form of birth control. After about three months after a vasectomy, your semen won't contain any sperm, so it can't cause pregnancy.