Dr Greg Phillipson

Specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Certified Subspecialist in Male and Female Infertility
MB ChB  FRANZCOG  CREI

Dr. Phillipson has specialised in Fertility medicine and surgery for more than 25 years.
He has worked as a Hospital and Private Specialist, Fertility Clinic Director and held University positions in Australia and New Zealand. ​
​
​Special Interests:
  • vasectomy reversal
  • surgical sperm retrieval
  • male and female reproductive medicine and surgery

What does Vasectomy Reversal involve?

 Vasectomy reversal  is a safe, delicate microsurgical procedure.

​Many men choose to undergo reversal of  vasectomy, often because of a change in their lives, such as having a new spouse through remarriage, and the desire for a second family, or a change in family planning goals within the same marriage.

Although a vasectomy should be regarded as permanent, advances in microsurgery has enabled surgical reversal to successfully restore fertility in many cases.

The technical name for a vasectomy reversal is a vasovasostomy. This is surgically performed by reconnecting the previously cut ends of the vas deferens to rebuild an open vas channel for sperm to again become part of the man's ejaculate.

A vasectomy reversal is considered to be comparatively safe, but it is a more delicate and involved microsurgical procedure than a vasectomy. Typically, it is performed on an outpatient basis in a surgical centre and requires no overnight hospital stay.

The surgery requires an operating microscope and takes about two hours in the operating theatre and a few more to recover from the anaesthetic. The vas deferens that are to be rejoined are about the thickness of a phone charging cable. The inner channel which must be precisely aligned is a fraction of  a millimeter in diameter and the suture material used in the procedure is nearly invisible.


Dr. Greg Phillipson
​Specialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery
Certified CREI subspecialist
Ground Floor, Hiatt Chambers
St George's Medical Centre
249 Papanui Road
Merivale, Christchurch 8014