the essential
At the Cahors hospital, Doctor Ahmed Mansouri is performing more and more vasectomies. A practice that is still little known but increasingly convinced by men who sometimes even come from other departments.
It is still a taboo practice. But in recent years, men have increasingly passed the word around: vasectomy. This male sterilization consists of ligating the vas deferens to prevent the passage of sperm. More and more men are resorting to this practice, including in rural areas like the Lot. Proof of this is: the figures of Doctor Ahmed Mansouri who receives his patients on the 2nd floor of the Cahors hospital. “When I started my activity here in 2011, I only had two operations of this type per year. Today, I have 30 per year and this continues to increase,” notes the urologist. Initially, Doctor Mansouri only received Anglo-Saxons who have second homes in the Lot, already familiar with the technique. Today, he listens, advises and operates from Lotois, Lot-et-Garonnais, Tarn-et-Garonnais and Aveyronnais. Several explanations. First, the cessation of the so-called Esssure technique, in 2017, an alternative method to tubal ligation. “Many patients did not tolerate the implant of these springs well, some had allergies and we also suspected toxicity,” recalls the professional.
Following the controversies, the method was stopped. From now on, tubal ligation involves a much more serious surgical procedure and with more risks. So the women said no. “For fear of the operation, but also because they were fed up with their contraception, the patients arrived for consultation with their companions,” he points out. Then, a change in mentalities. The men arrive in Doctor Mansouri’s office, already convinced. “I never have to convince them. On the contrary, it is rather they who try to convince me to operate on them. The intellectual journey has already been made,” they note.
From 35 to 45 years old, already in a relationship and parents
The typical profile? Patients aged 35 to 45, already parents, aware of feminist issues and who have strong convictions about ecology. “These men who no longer want children want to take their share of responsibility in the couple’s contraception,” notes the urologist.
Finally, the well-rounded procedure reassures the candidates: “I receive them for a first consultation, I explain the method, I announce from the outset that it does not change anything for sexuality and pleasure, I remind you of the methods of contraception women and I announce the four months of reflection periods. I then give them a booklet from the Ministry of Health to help them in their choice. Doctor Mansouri also asks questions: “Do you have children? Are you in a relationship? Are you sure you don’t want any more children? Is everything going well sexually?” Four months later, the decided patients are operated on for around thirty minutes. “At the Cahors hospital, they can wear a virtual reality headset during local anesthesia,” observes the practitioner. During this time, with pliers, he or one of his three colleagues makes two small holes above each testicle to cut the vas deferens. Three months after the operation, which can also be carried out in Figeac, the man is invited to carry out a spermogram. And for only a few days, it has now been possible to carry it out at the Cahors hospital where a doctor has been trained and equipped. Proof that the technique has a bright future ahead of it.
