Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Men shy away from FP surgery fearing losing ‘manhood’


By SNV Sudhir

Visakhapatnam, Oct 31, 2012: Despite government offering incentives and encouraging men to undergo sterilization surgery as part of Family Planning (FP) programme very few are taking up vasectomy in Vizag fearing losing ‘manhood’.
Statistics available at the medical and health department show that of the total FP operations done since 2009, vasectomy cases are too little throwing light that women alone are taking up the responsibility of keeping their families ‘small’ in Vizag.
It is the myth that man’s sexual potency may decrease after the vasectomy, is said to be preventing men to undergo the surgery. While vasectomy is a minor surgery involving almost no risk, tubectomy surgery for women, is a major operation involving elaborate preparation and lengthy hospitalisation. 
Of the 25, 212 FP operations in 2009-10, in the district the vasectomy surgeries are only 1,496. In 2010-11, the total FP cases are 21,750 and of them  less than 3 percent are vasectomies and in  2011-12 the total operations are 21,029 and there was a slight increase of 4 percent in vasectomy surgeries and from April to September this year-2012-a  total 7,993 operations were performed.
Interestingly the little raise in vasectomy surgeries though much less than the tubectomy cases in 2010-11, 2011-12 is due to the tribal men, who  are coming forward to undergo minor surgery due to the incentives offered by the government.
“We try our best to dispel the myths associated with the aftermath of vasectomy. Despite many awareness programmes men still prefer women to undergo tubectomy. But, this is changing in tribal areas due to varied reasons,” additional district medical and health officer (ADM&HO), Syamala Devi told this correspondent.
Government offers Rs 1,100 as incentive to men for undergoing vasectomy and Rs 600 to women for tubectomy. Statistics show that even money is not driving men to undergo FP surgery.  “Vasectomy doesn't make a man impotent or affect sperm count. Men can start working after a few days. These surgeries are done under local anaesthesia and are very safe,” said Dr Kutikuppala Surya Rao, internationally renowned researcher in HIV/AIDS.

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