

In recovery, Lee experienced soreness, but seems to more vividly recall the luxury of a pain medication bubble during which he housed Thai takeout and the first four seasons of “The Wire.” The surgery is 99.9% effective in preventing conception, and while it's very often reversible, it's generally considered a permanent fix. Medicare recognized vasectomies in 1969, making the procedure more mainstream, and as of 2020, about 500,000 men get snipped each year in the United States, according to Cleveland Clinic. That leaves one option for men who are done having children or never wanted them in the first place: a vasectomy, a now-routine surgery during which a doctor cuts and seals a man’s tubes that carry sperm. Sure, there are condoms, but fumbling around for them in the moment is a drag for both parties, and in no scenario does condom use risk the man wearing them with developing hypertension, mental illness, cancer, stroke, or any of the other conditions appearing on the female contraception side-effect Bingo card. This makes a certain amount of sense: contraception has been something for heterosexual couples to worry about for thousands of years, and it seems the burden of getting it started and keeping it up-in addition to the long list of common side effects-tends to fall squarely on the woman. He says it's “mostly other guys who had also gone through with the procedure.” But it's not always men-occasionally fans of his vasectomy jokes included women. Almost always, the audience met Pettis’ bits about snips with big laughs-and led plenty of fans approach him after the show. Atlanta-based comedian Joe Pettis, 39, has been joking about his vasectomy-and the fact his then-girlfriend’s mom footed the bill for it-for the past 14 years.
