Vasectomy: The Cruelest Cut of All

Brad Bowins MD, B.Sc, F.R.C.P.
Infinity Publishing (2006)
ISBN 9780741430991
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (7/07)


Safe and simple procedure? NOT!

Dr. Brad Bowins is a psychiatrist working in private practice as well as at the University of Toronto Health Service. Dr. Bowins has done extensive research into the material presented in his book and it is noted in many pages in the Bibliography section. When an author dedicates almost ten percent of his book to the background and research material presented in it (8 pages of a 98 page book), you know what he is saying is backed up with facts.

“Vasectomy” is well written and researched information, a manual on the subject of male sterilization. In his book, Brad begins by explaining the male anatomy and physiology. He starts off with a little background into the male reproductive system and all it entails: Testicles, Efferent Ducts & Epididymis, Vas Deferens and the Seminal Vesicles & Prostate. Dr. Bowins brings out little-known facts about this supposed “simple procedure” that maybe the Urologist will not tell his patient -- things like, it’s not just a simple snipping of the testicles or such (as they would have us believe) but an actual removal of 10-15 millimeters of tissue! Dr. Bowins does a fine job of explaining the procedure and the different variations.

Among some of the other unknown facts are things like the testicles only produce a minor portion of the sperm content. There are other anatomical areas of the body that produce a higher percentage of the actual reproductive sperm than the testicles and these areas remain intact. But all this information is just leading up to the main focus of the book which is Post-Vasectomy Pain Syndrome or PVPS. Pain, that’s right; the terrible feeling in the genitals many years after the “Band-aid Surgery.” Dr. Bowins describes this as “The modern medical nightmare.” PVPS is so often diagnosed by Urologists as being in the patients head, and not actual, or other unreal symptoms. But the fact of the matter (as brought out in Dr. Bowins book) is that it is real -- real to the extent that a surgeon will on occasion remove the testicle that is the cause of the pain. Again Dr. Bowins explains that when that is done, the other one (which may have also expressed a minor version of the pain) will begin to take center stage in the pain circus and eventually it will have to be removed also.

Shocking? Yes!
Informative? Yes!
Great book? Yes!

I gave Dr. Bowins’ book an A+ and considered it an excellent read. The man utilizes some medical terms throughout “Vasectomy” which I had no problem with (I was an Air Force Medic). But to those of you that don’t have knowledge of Latin, or a medical dictionary handy, Dr. Bowins explains what they mean. One must understand, Brad Bowins is a doctor and he does talk like one.

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