Groups offer no-scalpel vasectomy to 500 men

CEBU, Philippines - The Southwestern University Alumni, together with an international team of physicians, is offering a free No-Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) to 500 interested men at the Sacred Heart Hospital and selected Cebu towns from February 3 to 10, 2015.

In a press conference at the SWU Administration conference room yesterday, the powerhouse group of the No Scalpel Vasectomy International (NSVI) introduced its 11 vasectomy specialists mainly from the US, UK, Australia, Ireland, Poland, and Canada, who will spearhead the NSV Mission.

The specialists performed 30 vasectomies yesterday at the SWU Sacred Heart Hospital and they are also set to offer their NSV expertise at Danao City Provincial Hospital on February 5 and Tuburan District Hospital on February 6.

Dr. Ramon Suarez, co-founder and president of NSVI, said that the free no-scalpel vasectomy prioritizes the third world or developing countries, including the Philippines.

“Vasectomy helps in improving the reproductive health of the Cebuanos. It helps in managing the population growth to some of the populous areas in Cebu,” Suarez said.

Suarez also added that the NSV is the simplest and safest way for a man who has difficulty in providing for his children’s basic needs and if he doesn’t want to have more children.

This can be availed by anyone who is either not too young or not too old to undergo the operation.

Potential NSV clients are advised not to do heavy work for 2 to 3 days after the operation to avoid post-operation problems. Medicine and a cash assistance of P1,000 is also given to the patient.

The NSVI also provides a Pantawid Livelihood Assistance to low-income NSV beneficiaries and Barangay Health Workers who are willing to educate others. They will be given P100 cash if they could refer a patient to undergo the operation.

Suarez assured that after the NSV, there would be no changes in the sexual functioning and strength of a man, as misunderstood by some.

Though vasectomy and tubal ligation are somehow similar in purpose, Suarez noted a difference between the two.

“Both are not 100 percent successful. In vasectomy, the worse that could happen is a woman gets pregnant. But in tubal ligation, a woman can die if an operation fails,” Suarez said.

Moreover, Doug Stein, NSVI Board of Director, said that misconceptions can be dispelled in local communities by giving the patients orientation before pushing through with the operation.

“Vasectomy should not be considered a reversal form of contraceptives. A man should see to it that he is already comfortable with the number of children he has before undergoing the operation,” Stein added.

Stein also said that the team’s goal standard for this year is the Philippines where there is rapid increase of population.

The NSVI has been conducting yearly NSV missions in the country for over 14 years already. It was first introduced in the Philippines in 2001 in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental. (FREEMAN)