It is during the “madness” of the college basketball tournament that North American men undergo the procedure the most. It’s no coincidence.
In the United States, the NCAA college basketball tournament, known as “March Madness” given its popularity in the betting market, does not just affect sports fans. For years, the March event has also been associated with an increase in the number of vasectomies, a trend that has gained the informal name of “Vas Madness”.
Data from a large database of health insurance complaints in the USA show that, between 2007 and 2015, the month of March registered a peak in this type of procedure, points out this week. The most advanced explanation is simple: many men take advantage of their recovery days to stay at home, resting, watching games on television.
This was the reading presented in 2018 by James Dupree, a doctor at Michigan Medicine. According to the specialist, patients are advised to rest for two to three days after the intervention, which makes a major sporting event a “moment”convenient” to schedule the operation.
Vasectomy is a simple outpatient male contraception procedure, which consists of cutting or sealing the ducts that transport sperm. But the phenomenon may have more complex causes than a mere coincidence with the sporting calendar.
The expression “Vas Madness” became popular in reports and advertising campaigns. Many of them cite a 2017 publication by the company Athenahealth, which has since been removed, which referred to a 30% increase in vasectomies performed in the first week of the tournament in 2016, compared to an average week.
That same year, a team led by University of Washington urologist Kevin Ostrowski published an analysis of millions of insurance records in the journal Urology to confirm a surge in vasectomies in March. The study identified, however, another peak at the end of the yearattributed to the fact that many patients have already met their annual insurance deductible, reducing the cost of elective procedures.
The media origins of the phenomenon date back to 2008, the magazine points out, when a urology clinic in Oregon launched, during March Madness, a radio advertising campaign called “Snip City”. The ad explicitly suggested that men schedule a vasectomy the day before the tournament to have an “excuse” to stay at home in front of the screen.
The best part is that doctors emphasize that the trend can have practical benefits. As urologist Alexander Rozanski of UT Health San Antonio explained in 2023, many men have difficulty complying with recommendations for rest after vasectomy. March Madness ends up giving them a good reason to slow down and recover like it should.
