ROSWELL, Ga. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- There's a new option for men when it comes to birth control. In the United States, women take care of birth control in 80 percent of relationships. With a new type of vasectomy, doctors expect more men will take charge.

Chuck Everson is a deputy sheriff. He routinely makes life and death decisions. He recently made a personal choice that carried the same seriousness. He chose to have a new type of vasectomy. "It was my responsibility, I believe, to take charge of birth control after my wife had two difficult pregnancies -- one almost causing her to die," Everson tells Ivanhoe.

It's called Vasclip. Urologist Lewis Kriteman, M.D., says, unlike the traditional vasectomy, he no longer has to cut the vas deferens that carries sperm. "The big difference between this and the other ways we do the procedure is that we do not need to cut out a segment of vas. As a result, we clamp across the vas, and that's all we do," Dr. Kriteman says.

A clamp -- the size of a grain of rice -- clicks on and prevents sperm from passing through. In a study of 300 men, there was less pain and fewer complications such as swelling and bleeding.

Dr. Kriteman says, "Twenty-four to 36 hours after the procedure, you can get back to doing regular activity as far as walking, exercising, and things along those lines. It's probably a little bit longer when we do a traditional vasectomy."

"It was easier than going to the dentist," Everson says. And as for accuracy? Doctors say it is 97.5-percent effective at preventing pregnancy.

According to the manufacturers of the Vasclip, more than 400 doctors are using it nationwide. This procedure is considered permanent. The company plans to launch studies in the future to test the reversibility of the device.

If you would like more information, please contact:

The Vasclip Company
http://www.vasclip.com

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.