SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KMTR) -- A perennial time for fibs and excuses, “March Madness” is back with the NCAA basketball tournament beginning Thursday morning, March 15
th, 2012.
But for guys looking for a "no guilt" way to get in front of the TV, one Springfield doctor's office is pitching its idea: a procedure with a certain "snip" to it.
March Madness, otherwise called “the big dance,” is that time of year where some guys, you could say "have a ball.”
That saying goes for the Oregon Urology Institute, as well.
With the NCAA Tourney on TV, the institute is targeting men who don't want to have anymore kids and are considering a vasectomy. A vasectomy is a surgical procedure which permanently severs a man's flow of sperm.
The tournament promotion has been happening at OUI for the last four years. In that time, its become more popular each year.
A vasectomy takes about a half hour.
After that, doctors say patients need about 48 hours of rest.
Doctors at OUI say, what better time to rest than during March Madness?
Along with the doctors note giving patients a legitimate reason to skip work, each patient is sent home with a gift bag of frozen peas, a cooler, a t-shirt, a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition magazine and a pair of 3-D glasses.
“Usually something that guys have been thinking about for some time and they're like, 'well that's a pretty good excuse to have it done,' you know, or a significant other kind of encourages them, 'hey, why don't you think about it now? it's a good time, that looks like fun,'” says Dr. David DiMarco, a urologist with the Oregon Urology Institute.
“It makes something (fun) that no one really looks forward to, of course, but if you're going to have it done, might as well have some fun,” says Dr. DiMarco.
Since the promo started about 4 years ago, OUI says it has gotten attention from all over the globe. Some websites like DeadSpin.com have blogged about it, while some ESPN anchors have even talked about it on national broadcasts.
OUI says it still has slots available during the March Madness time period. Doctors there say it can be scheduled quickly as well, “just like a haircut,” according to Dr. DiMarco.
The procedure is minimally invasive with just a few needles and a little bit of pain medication.
