A middle-aged man in Kakamega County on Thursday, May 18, expressed his disappointment over what he claimed was a botched medical procedure that left him with more questions than answers.
The man from Shikoti village wondered how his wife got pregnant, yet medical experts performed a successful vasectomy operation on him, to which the couple celebrated a big milestone.
He further lamented that the procedure, conducted at a local hospital in Navakholo town, returned to haunt him.
One of the directives, he claimed he would follow, was taking action against the medical facility to take responsibility for the fourth child.
"Immediately after getting three kids, my wife and I agreed to take up a family planning method that best suited us. I saw it wise that I take up the responsibility as a man and engage doctors who would advise on the best option.
"Doctors operated on me and did a vasectomy, a permanent and irreversible process. The vasectomy was done on July 12, 2022, and the doctors told me that I would be safe after 20 conjugal exercises or three months," the man recounted.
A non-governmental organization in Western Kenya was said to have wholly funded the medical operation.
Why Vasectomy
The patient argued that he adopted vasectomy after getting three children in a quick sequence between 2020 and 2022 when the pandemic forced employees to work from home.
“I felt like we have always left family planning to women, and so after we got three children, I wanted to take the responsibility and go through the procedure myself,” he told the media.
Against his expectation, the father of three started enjoying his marital responsibilities even better, according to the wife.
However, months later, the embattled wife failed to account for her menstrual circle, forcing the couple to rethink their decision.
"After five months, we got shocked when my wife missed her menstrual period. At the time, we did not think of pregnancy as a possibility.
"In December 2022, we decided to visit doctors for a pregnancy test, and our fears were confirmed that she was indeed pregnant with another child," he recounted.
On her part, the wife expressed confidence that her family will wade through the uncertainty even after the birth of their fourth child, whom they were waiting for with bated breath.
“We trust each other, and we are believers, so there have never had issues of fearing the other party might be up to something bad,” she assured.
Contacted for a comment, the doctor who performed the vasectomy argued that her patient may have failed to heed the medical advice offered immediately after the operation. She alleged that patients are advised to use protection for the first few days.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Dr Charles Ochieng explained that the patient must have engaged in an intercourse before attaining his healing threshold.
Dr Ochieng, who also underwent vasectomy 15 years ago explained that the patient should have returned to the hospital for three months in order for the doctors to establish the operational success.
"Three months after vasectomy, the doctors would have conducted what is known as semen analysis which would have let the doctors know whether the process was successful or not," Dr Ochieng explained.
The two doctors agreed that the patient must have errored in following the instructions which we issued to him after the medical procedure.
A vasectomy is a surgical procedure that cuts or blocks the epididymis, tubes that carry sperm and is considered one of the most effective forms of birth control.
Gynaecologists say that vasectomy is 99 per cent effective at preventing pregnancy, and has low risks of complications.
Vasectomies usually take about 30 minutes. The doctor numbs the area around your testicles with a local anaesthetic before making a small incision in the scrotum to cut or block the vas deferens. The doctor will then close the incision with stitches.
One will then rest for a few days as they may experience pain, swelling, and bruising. These symptoms usually fade within a few days.
A doctor will then conduct tests after 10 to 21 releases before a sperm count is considered low enough to cause pregnancy.
