Botched Vasectomy Forces Patient to Undergo Epididymectomy

This case involves a 52-year-old male patient who presented to his urologist’s office for a vasectomy. Before the operation, there was some discussion concerning a possible growth on one of his testicles. The patient indicated he never had pain in this area, and the urologist did not evaluate further. During the operation, the patient experienced right scrotal bleeding which prompted the urologist to transfer him to ER. At the ER, the urologist performed an exploration of left hemiscrotum, and performed a epididymectomy. The patient had to use a drain for 5 days and suffered intense pain for several weeks. As a result of the events – what was supposed to be a short procedure turned into a long ER visit and further complications.

Question(s) For Expert Witness

1. Do you have extensive experience performing vasectomies?

2. Is a routine vasectomy typically followed by an ER visit?- what complications can be avoided by following proper procedure?

3. Is left scrotal bleeding a common complication of vasectomies?

Expert Witness Response E-007170

I am a board certified Professor and Chief of Urology, as well as the Urology Residency Program Director for my hospital. I perform about 100 vasectomies per year. These are both done in the office and in the hospital setting. Routine vasectomies are rarely followed by ER visits unless a complication occurs such as bleeding or severe pain. Patients needs to be well appraised of complications of this procedure which are quite rare. The left scrotal bleeding in this case may be due to difficult anatomy or an underlying mass that was not detected. In this case, it also sounds like there was poor communication with the patient which certainly did not help the situation.