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. 2024 Sep 9;16(9):e69022.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.69022. eCollection 2024 Sep.

A Scoping Review of the Clinical Utility of Laparoscopic Vasectomy

Khang Duy Ricky Le  1   2   3 , Annie Jiao Wang  3   2 , Shasha Haycock  3   2   4 , Matthew J Shears  3 , Mark Forbes  5
Affiliations

A Scoping Review of the Clinical Utility of Laparoscopic Vasectomy

Khang Duy Ricky Le et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Vasectomy is a common procedure performed for family planning. Traditionally, this has been via a scrotal approach. In contrast, laparoscopic vasectomy is a documented but rarely described procedure that may minimise anaesthetic risk, surgical risk, and healthcare expenditure in patients undergoing elective laparoscopic procedures for concurrent pathology such as hernia repair. This scoping review evaluates the clinical utility of laparoscopic vasectomy. It was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Articles were identified with keywords related to laparoscopy and vasectomy. Six peer-reviewed, full-text articles published in English were included in this review. These studies encompass eight individual patient cases of laparoscopic vasectomy performed in the 1990s and early 2000s. All the cases included laparoscopy for concurrent pathology, the most common of which was inguinal hernia. There were no complications associated with laparoscopic vasectomy. For patients requiring laparoscopic surgery for alternate pathologies, synchronous laparoscopic vasectomy improves surgical efficiency by minimising anaesthetic time, operative time, and risk, in addition to lower associated healthcare costs. However, consideration is given to the limitations of this approach, and a note is made of the lack of evidence regarding safety and efficacy given the paucity of cases described in the literature.

Keywords: hernia repair; laparoscopic hernia repair; laparoscopic vasectomy; laparoscopy; vasectomy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flowchart of literature search and screening
MEDLINE: Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online; ICTRP: International Clinical Trials Registry Platform
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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