Robert Kulik – vasectomy – who performs the procedure

My name is Robert Kulik and I am a doctor. I work in andrology and gynaecology and in the infertility problems arising from these fields, as well as in contraception for both WOMEN and MEN.

My other speciality is vasectomy – reversible male contraception. In 2018 I obtained a certificate of practical training in performing vasectomy reversal (vasovasostomy), i.e. reversing the effects of a vasectomy.

I work at ZdrOva in Warsaw. I trained and obtained a certificate in performing the so-called “No-scalpel, no-needle vasectomy” using the Open Ended, Fascial Interposition” method (No-scalpel/No needle Vasectomy) in the United States, in Tampa, Florida. This method is sometimes called the Canadian method or the “keyhole” method – because only one opening a few millimetres across is made.

I am a member of the International Consortium for Male Contraception
International Consortium for Male Contraception = ICMC
and of the
European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health (ESC)

For years I have also been a member of the Polish Gynaecological and Andrological societies

Since 2013 I have been an active member of the medical advisory board of World Vasectomy Day. I am involved not only as an adviser but also in performing vasectomies.

Why did I train in vasectomy abroad?

In Poland vasectomy is a very rarely performed procedure, while in the USA about half a million vasectomies are performed every year (528,000 in 2012). Similarly large numbers of vasectomies are performed in all developed countries – especially in the European Community, Canada, and also in China, India and Africa.

In 2012 the American Urological Association published a major paper comparing, among other things, the different no-scalpel vasectomy methods. A group of 85 researchers analysed all available scientific publications from 1942 to 2011. More than 2,000 research results on vasectomy were reviewed. Of those 2,000, 294 were selected that met the high criteria of so-called Evidence-Based Medicine.

Reading this study, I was surprised how many methods and modifications of vasectomy there are. In the group of so-called no-scalpel vasectomies, the failure rate ranges from 0-0.5% to 8-13%! The same goes for the complication rate – so-called “chronic pain” occurs with different frequency depending on the method! With the older variants even up to 30-90%! As I could find no one, either in Poland or in Europe, performing vasectomy using the thermal cautery, open ended, fascial interposition method (with the open end of the testicular segment of the vas deferens brought outside the sheath of the spermatic cord), I decided to go to the USA.

In 2013 I was accepted onto a practical course in Tampa, Florida, where I successfully completed the training and passed a practical examination (9 vasectomies performed independently on 9 US citizens). I received my certificate from the hands of the world-renowned authority on vasectomy and vasectomy reversal – Dr Douglas Stein.

Since then I have performed over 5,000 vasectomies using the thermal cautery-open ended-fascial interposition method.

International certificates in vasectomy and vasectomy reversal

Certificate of completion of practical training and of independently performing (hands on) vasectomies on American patients in the presence of the trainer (the so-called competence examination)

Vasectomy reversal – restoring the continuity of the vas deferens (vasovasostomy) after an earlier vasectomy.

In January 2018, at the same centre, I was accepted onto a practical vasectomy reversal course. In April 2019 I completed another practical vasovasostomy course.

In Tampa, Florida, USA, the procedure of reconnecting the previously cut ends of the vas deferens is performed using a minimally invasive method in outpatient conditions (in a treatment room, not an operating theatre) under local anaesthesia. The procedure is completely painless.

Below – the certificate received from Dr Douglas Stein in 2018.

Below – the certificate obtained in 2019.