Why Do So Many Men Get Vasectomies During March Madness?

Image courtesy of bosy_bobsy

Maybe you’re watching the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on a small window on your work computer, or on your strategically placed smartphone at your desk. There’s also a higher than usual chance that you’re enjoying March Madness while recovering from your very recent vasectomy.

Data from the athenahealth network appears to confirm anecdotal claims that the NCAA tournament is a popular time to get this particular procedure.

Researchers analyzed data from 235,000 patient visits to 173 urology practices across the athenahealth network, focusing on men ages 20 to 49, and found that in the first round of the 2016 NCAA tournament, urologists performed 30% more vasectomies than they did during an average week.

The data also showed that in general, vasectomies are timed toward the end of the week, probably so people can spend the weekend at home and not have to miss work.

March Madness is no different, as urologists performed 41% more vasectomies on the Friday of the first week of the 2016 tournament than on a typical Friday.

We are far from surprised: On this very date five years ago, we heard about a urology practice in Cape Cod that offered a free pizza to patients who scheduled their vasectomies during March Madness.

The practice administrator said at the time that there’s no better time to loll around on the couch eating pizza and healing your sensitive bits than during March Madness.

“It does actually come with one topping. Maybe you can put some meatballs on it,” he joked.

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