• Fertility Myths that Should be Left in the Last Decade

    As we move into a whole new decade, with exciting new medical technology and new scientific discoveries making the news all the time, you’d think we’d leave old myths by the wayside. It’s surprising to note, then, that some people still believe a number of untrue things about healthcare. Fertility, in particular, is plagued by persistent myths. Have you fallen for any of these? It’s time to shake them off and move forward.

    • Menstruation is connected to the moon. The idea that a woman’s cycle and the lunar cycle is a fairly popular notion. It’s easy to see why: menstrual cycles are typically about 28 days, and the moon’s cycle, from new moon to new moon, is about 29.5. There’s no evidence, however, to suggest that this is more than coincidence. If there was a moon-menstruation connection, what purpose would that serve?
    • To become pregnant, lie down after sex. It’s widely believed that lying down for a certain period of time after sex can increase your odds of conception. In fact, there’s no evidence that remaining prone is helpful at all: after sex, the sperm likely to fertilize the egg have already gotten where they need to go.
    • Menopause is unnatural. Some people believe that women were never meant to go through menopause, because for much of history women did not live long enough to experience it. This myth comes from the idea that women’s value is tied up in reproduction. In fact, even in the 17th century, women lived an average of 60 years. Men didn’t live much longer than that, but society wasn’t as interested in their reproductive function and its decline.
    • The female orgasm promotes conception. In order for a female orgasm to propel sperm, it would have to happen at the same time as the male orgasm, and that’s rare.
    • The HPV vaccine causes premature ovarian failure. The human papillomavirus vaccine is somewhat controversial, and in the vaccine literature, there was mention of six cases of premature ovarian failure. However, a much larger study disproved the connection with the vaccine.
    • Men are forever fertile. Though some men can father children in their old age, for most men fertility declines with age, and there’s a marked decline in the success of fertility treatments for men over 50.

    If you’re considering a vasectomy reversal, the Center for Vasectomy Reversal is here to help. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other concerns about their fertility. We accept major credit cards as well as cash and checks, and offer a payment plan for those who are unable to pay the entire fee at the time of surgery. Whether you’re ready to schedule a procedure or just want to learn more, you can contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 to arrange a free consultation.

  • Top Baby Names of the Last Decade

    It’s interesting how names come in and out of popularity, depending on cultural shifts. Is the name your parents gave you still a popular choice among today’s parents? Let’s take a look at the top baby names of the recent years, as we move into a whole new decade.

    The classics remain classic. For boys, Noah, Liam, and Jacob top the list for the 2010s, and they were all popular in the previous decade as well. For girls, the top three were Emma, Sophia, and Olivia, which had all been in the top 20 during the 2000s.

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) keeps track of the top baby names each year, and using their analysis of over 35 million babies who were born between 2010 and 2018, they’ve come up with a ranking of the top 200. Are there any newcomers to the top 20? Yes! For boys, Jayden and Mason climbed the charts, while new top 20 names for girls included Harper, Evelyn, and Addison. You can find the whole list at the SSA’s website, but for now, we’ll give you this teaser of the top 20 for both boys and girls.

    18,133, 841 baby boys were born between 2010 and 2018, and these were the top 20 boys’ names, which the Social Security Administration tells us are “a good indication of the ultimate rankings for the complete decade”:

    1. Noah
    2. Liam
    3. Jacob
    4. Mason
    5. William
    6. Ethan
    7. Michael
    8. Alexander
    9. James
    10. Elijah
    11. Daniel
    12. Benjamin
    13. Aiden
    14. Jayden
    15. Logan
    16. Matthew
    17. David
    18. Joseph
    19. Lucas
    20. Jackson

    In that same time frame, 17, 316, 359 baby girls were brought into the world, and these were the top 20 girls’ names, also representing the entire decade:

    1. Emma
    2. Sophia
    3. Olivia
    4. Isabella
    5. Ava
    6. Mia
    7. Abigail
    8. Emily
    9. Madison
    10. Charlotte
    11. Elizabeth
    12. Amelia
    13. Chloe
    14. Ella
    15. Evelyn
    16. Avery
    17. Sofia
    18. Harper
    19. Grace
    20. Addison

    What do you think? Did your favorite names make the list? Many of the top 20 are timeless, but a few modern names have made their way in. If you had a baby right now, would these names make your list?

    If you’re ready for a baby and considering a vasectomy reversal, the Center for Vasectomy Reversal is here to help. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other concerns about their fertility. We accept major credit cards as well as cash and checks, and offer a payment plan for those who are unable to pay the entire fee at the time of surgery. Whether you’re ready to schedule a procedure or just want to learn more, you can contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 to arrange a free consultation.

  • Five Fast Facts about Vasectomy Reversals

    A vasectomy is considered a permanent method of sterilization, but is it really permanent? Between six and ten percent of men who have had vasectomies will change their minds at some point and consider a vasectomy reversal. In truth, even though in times past it was a long shot, today vasectomy reversal is extremely doable. Here are some things you might want to know about this increasingly common procedure.

    1. Vasectomy reversal is a largely successful outpatient procedure. When a vasectomy is performed, the surgeon reroutes or clamps the internal tubing that carries sperm from the testicles through the penis. This tube, called the vas deferens, is restored in a vasectomy reversal. Using microsurgery techniques that involve surgical microscopes and stitches finer than a human hair, the doctor re-attaches the tubing. It only takes about two hours, and the patient can usually go back to work in a day or two.
    2. A man’s testicles never stop making sperm. A vasectomy prevents sperm from leaving the body, but it doesn’t stop sperm production. Therefore, once the reversal is complete, normal fertility is restored. After three weeks or so of abstinence, to allow for healing, the couple can try to conceive.
    3. Time is a factor in vasectomy reversal success, but it may not be the biggest factor. The rates of success for a vasectomy reversal are as high as 95 percent for vasectomies done within the past 10 years. After 15 years, the success rate begins to decline, but the health of the man’s sperm and the age of the female partner are just as significant in the chances of conception.
    4. Fertility plays a role, even after a successful reversal. Before a man goes through a vasectomy reversal, he and his partner should be examined for fertility issues as well as overall health. Sometimes, the best option for conception is in vitro fertilization, so the doctor may recommend a sperm retrieval to increase the chances of conception.
    5. Insurance probably doesn’t cover the procedure. It’s important to note, before deciding to undergo a vasectomy reversal, that it’s typically not covered by insurance. Therefore, patients need to be prepared to pay out of pocket.

    If you’re considering a vasectomy reversal, the Center for Vasectomy Reversal is here to help. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other concerns about their fertility. We accept major credit cards as well as cash and checks, and offer a payment plan for those who are unable to pay the entire fee at the time of surgery. Whether you’re ready to schedule a procedure or just want to learn more, you can contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 to arrange a free consultation.

  • New Research about Infertility is Promising

    One in eight couples has trouble conceiving. Do you know how many of the cases are caused by unexplained male infertility? Nearly a quarter. For years, scientists have known that infertility can be linked to sperm that fail to throw out histones from DNA during development, but the reasons for this failure and how it happens is unclear. Now, however, that lack of clarity may be changing.

    Promising new research out of Penn Medicine is showing the precise location of the retained histones and the key gene that regulates them. Researchers have also created a mouse model with a mutated version of the gene. This allows investigators to track the defects in sperm, starting with the early stages of sperm development and going through fertilization. This research could lead us to a better understanding of infertility in men, and how epigenetic mutations are passed to future generations.

    What does it mean, when sperm fail to evict histones?  Histones are the main proteins in chromatin. Their function is to package DNA and turn genes on and off. Healthy sperm lose about 90-95 percent of these proteins, replacing them with protamines, smaller proteins able to pack DNA into tiny sperm. When a man has unexplained infertility, the problem is often with retained histones. The sperm count can be normal, the sperm have normal motility, and yet because the histones are in the wrong location, the couple has trouble conceiving.

    Until now, research has produced conflicting results about where these histones are located. Because of the confusion of discrepant data, the burden of assisted-reproductive technologies has continued to fall on women. Even if the male has the issue, the female partner goes through hormone injections and procedures to promote a higher fertility rate.

    Imagine, then, if scientists were able to use epigenetic therapies to change the levels of histones and protamines in men. With this new research, scientists are better able to closely study the mechanisms behind a mutated sperm’s trajectory, which opens the door to potential therapeutic treatments. Epigenetic drugs are already being used to treat cancer and other diseases. With a clearer understanding of how a man’s epigenome affects conception and embryonic development, we have the potential to alter sperm, so these new studies may lead to a breakthrough infertility treatment.

    If you’re struggling with infertility or considering a vasectomy reversal, the Center for Vasectomy Reversal is here to help. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other concerns about their fertility. We accept major credit cards as well as cash and checks, and offer a payment plan for those who are unable to pay the entire fee at the time of surgery. Whether you’re ready to schedule a procedure or just want to learn more, you can contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 to arrange a free consultation.