# New Member - microsurgery Derby Nuffield ?



## Davidtbird (Aug 18, 2008)

Hello All

My name is David  i am 42 also my DW 28 i have had a failed vasectomy reversal (no sperm detected)in may 2008 i have been searching for a surgeon who does microsurgery this time around i was going to see Dr Dawson from Hartlepool but changed my mind and now going to see mike Henley from Derby Nuffield as he is able to do the vaso-epididymostomy if needed, can anyone give me advice or know about mike henley\Derby Nuffield i see infomation on there website but was looking for others thoughts\advice.


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

Hello David, welcome to Fertility Friends. 

I m sorry your vas reversal did not work and you are now seeking further help with this. My understanding of vasectomy reversal is fairly limited; I know that the chance of a successful reversal decreases the longer ago the vasectomy was performed and that, if reversal fails, sperm can still be retreieved surgically in many cases. That's about it for me I'm afraid, and I don't have any information about the Derby Nuffield or Mike Henley so cannot advise directly. I have done a quick basic search and cannot find any mentions of him or Derby Nuffield on FF but that doesn't mean to say people here have not been to see him or that they cannot advise. I can point your towards the Male Factors board where you will find a fairly current and ongoing thread about vascetomy reversal and if you post your question there maybe someone could advise you.

I will leave you a link to the MF boards, as well as some other useulf links to part of FF that I hope you find helpful:

*What Every New Member Needs To Know (includes a list of common abbreviations) ~ *   CLICK HERE

*Male factors ~ *CLICK HERE

We do have an area specifically for men to chat on FF - as you can imagine, we are a largely female dominated population here so it is good to know you too have a place th chat about the specifics of how infertility is affecting you.

*The Mens Room ~ *CLICK HERE

You can also chat live in our excellent chat room. We have a newbie night in the chat room every week (*Wednesday at 8pm*), where you can meet other new members and get technical support with navigating the site and using all the functions available here.  CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON NEWBIE CHAT 

You can also "meet" and chat with people in your local area through the *Location boards*. This is especially useful to find people who may be using the same clinic and or in the same PCT area.

Wishing you lots of luck. 

C~x


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## tigercookie (Jul 29, 2008)

Hi David.
Afraid I don't have any experience of this guy in Derby - I thought it was only in America you could have this surgery so was surprised to read your question.  We went to Andrew Dawson in Hartlepool for a reversal and were really disapointed when it the results showed no sperm after he had sounded so positive after the surgery and got our hopes up sky high.  
We considered going to US for the other op but decided that it we couldn't keep taking chances on the reversals and went for a tese where they managed to get plenty of sperm and have frozen them down.  The downside is that we have to have icsi IVF treatment now to be in with a chance of pregnancy but the good news is my husbands sperm managed to fertilise 6 out of 8 eggs after 25 years since his vasectomy.  Its expensive business this!
Good luck with whatever you decide to do - would be very interested to see how you get on if you decide to go to Derby.


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## Davidtbird (Aug 18, 2008)

Thank you for the replies, i am so glad i found this friendly and helpful forum after reading lots of threads here i realise there are plenty of people just like me who would love the chance to have a baby, I will be going to see Mike Henley this tuesday at derby nuffield to see if he can perform a redo reversal by micro surgery also the vaso-epididymostomy  route if needed, i just wished my family Dr pointed me in the direction of micro surgery rather than the naked eye surgery which i had, i will let you know how i get on, tigercookie we wish you good luck on your IVF and will be looking out for updates.


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

Hello again David.

 with your appointment on Tuesday. Please do pop back to this thread and let us know how it goes. 

C~x


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## ❣Audrey (Aug 22, 2008)

Good luck for your appointment xxx


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## Davidtbird (Aug 18, 2008)

Update, I have seen mike henley today, the appiontment lasted for 45 minutes, we had a good chat with him also when he looked at me he said that he thinks one side could have an epididymis blockage because he could feel it was more enlarged than the other side which felt normal but could feel a small knot in my vas he said he would probably do a vas to vas on one side and a vas to epididymis the other side depending on what he finds when he opens me up.  He also said that had I not had a first reversal he would have given me about 93% but because this is a redo the percentage has lowered by 20% to 30%.  I just wish I knew about microsurgery before my first reversal and I would have stood more of a chance of sucess.  I am just waiting for his secretary to sort out a date for surgery early january 2009.


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## bridgetwhite (Sep 15, 2008)

hello  new to this site and read your post with interest! trying myself to choose between andrew dawson and the derby clinic. live really near to derby so maybe.can you hepl me? you said 'Dr Dawson from Hartlepool but changed my mind and now going to see mike Henley from Derby Nuffield as he is able to do the vaso-epididymostomy if needed' what is a vaso-epidiymostomy?
do you think that dr dawson and mike henley both do the same microsurgery but mike henley offers another option if it does not work?
I spoke to dr dawson on the phone and asked if he could take out sperm if it did not work, but he said this was not good practice as it damaged the tube, which i understand.
why did you choose mike and not dr dawson?just interested and trying to work out which way to go!
best of luck with your operation and thanks!


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## bridgetwhite (Sep 15, 2008)

hello me again just been reading the mike derby website, it does sound really good. do you think that he just specialises in reversals? this is what attracted me to Dr Dawson. i like the fact its done under a general i don't think my partner could sit though a local operation he is really scared about the wholething! when he had the vasectony to start with they had to knock him out half way though. anyway any reasons you choose mike instead of Andrew really would like to here, I am starting to think you are right and derby is only 40Min's from us it probably best not to have long travel afterwards. thanks again


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## Davidtbird (Aug 18, 2008)

Hi

We have chosen mike henley because i did not want to be opened up by mr Dawson and risk there being a blockage in my epididymal tubes all he would then do is stitch you back up and say sorry it was not good as you had a blockage,Mr Dawson does not do vaso-epidiymostomy however Mike Henley offers the vaso-epidiymostomy if a blockage is found this can bypass the blockage but its still not guaranteed but offers so much more hope, i was told because of my first reversal using size six sutures at worst just over 50% success and best 93% depending what he found when he openes me up, he said that if it was my first reversal he would offer me 96%, the biggest mistake i made was going to a surgeon who my doctor recommended i had the traditional reversal using the sutures that look like rope under the microscope and that can cause blockage in the vas just because of the size and placement of them also when i was examined my surgeon didnt even notice or say that i would probably need vaso-epidiymostomy, on the otherhand  mike henley soon noticed swelling on my left side and pointed out to me he is sure i have a epididymal  blockage on that side after feeling it my self i can now even feel the difference but sometimes its very difficult to know if a person has an epididymal  blockage, also mike henley offers sperm collection just in case of future problems ie a failed reversal but i was told it could make problems at time of operation so he will decide if thats possible when he gets there, tell your partner there is nothing to worry about i was really worried at the first reversal attempt but now i have been through it using GA "General" it doesnt bother me at all now i cant wait to have a redo. just to add on average mike does one reversal a week and one vaso-epidiymostomy every fortnight.


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## Davidtbird (Aug 18, 2008)

Update  it appears the reversal has failed,we will be going for ICSI at CARE  nottingham in a couple of months my DW has just registered on this board she is worried about the procedure and soon will be saying hi to all shortly on the forum.


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## *laura* (Oct 7, 2007)

Hi David, sorry you've had a failed reversal I know how devastating it feels    my DP had a reversal last year which has failed.  We won't be trying a second op we're having SSR and ICSI in Bristol.

Good luck to you and DW with your tx  

Laura x


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