Fun Things to Do Around Sarasota with Your Kids this Summer

Are you headed to the Gulf coast of Florida with your family this summer? Don’t miss out on all that Sarasota has to offer. Here, we offer some suggestions of fun things to do.

• Check out some marine life. The Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium is both fun and educational, with all sorts of exhibits from coral reefs to sea jellies to river otter and alligators. You’ll enjoy seeing manatees and sea turtles, but the really exciting event happens Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 11am, when the trainers feed the 135,000 gallon tankful of sharks.
• Have a jungle adventure. Sarasota Jungle Gardens, a family-owned local zoo, has 200 species, including parrots, snakes, lemurs, and alligators. Big Cat Habitat is an animal sanctuary that focuses on housing big cats like tigers and lions but also has non-cat species like bears, monkeys, sloths, foxes, wallabies, and more.
• Do some science. The Suncoast Science Center has a state-of-the-art lab with classes that allow school-aged kids to do experiments they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. The state-of-the-art equipment in the lab can help them with experiments that they wouldn’t be able to do at home.
• Stroll through a garden. The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens cover 15 acres in the former home of Marie and William Selby. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, it’s got beautiful displays of vibrant flowers in exhibits like the Orchid Show, the Tropical Conservatory, or the Children’s Rainforest Garden.
• Visit a park. There are plenty of parks from which to choose in Sarasota, so pick one and have a ball with your family! Urfer Park has a playground, fitness equipment, hiking and biking trails and, if you go far enough in, wetlands and cows. Oscar Scherer State Park features hiking, camping, picnicking, rollerblading, snorkeling, paddling, and more. Myakka River State Park is one of the largest parks in Florida, and offers camping, bird watching, horseback riding, and wildlife viewing.
• Visit a circus museum. Sarasota used to be the winter home of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. Today, The Ringling is the official state art museum of Florida, with extensive grounds and a vast collection of artworks. There’s also the Circus Museum, where your kids will love exploring a collection that includes performer wardrobes, props wagons, and more.
• Walk through the trees. Have a fun adventure with your kids at TreeUmph, an elevated outdoor park nearby, in Bradenton. Swinging around in the park’s aerial courses, you’ll cross suspended bridges and do zip line courses with crazy obstacles.

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love families, and we love helping people build their families! We pride ourselves on providing optimal surgical results and uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, call 941-894-6428 or contact us through our website.

How to Increase Male Fertility

If you and your partner are struggling to conceive a child, you’re not alone. About one in six couples struggles with infertility, and one in three cases is due to a problem with male fertility. There are some natural remedies you can try, though, that may boost your chances of conception.

• Load up your diet with healthy foods. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, focus on getting antioxidants and healthy fats. Limit your intake of saturated fats and red or processed meat. And be careful about eating soy, because it contains plant estrogen, which can reduce testosterone bonding and sperm production.

• Take your vitamins and minerals. Though the mechanism behind it is not completely understood, research indicates that vitamin D and calcium can impact sperm health. Vitamin C improves fertility by relieving oxidative stress in the body. Additionally, limited studies suggest folate and zinc can improve sperm concentration, count, and overall health.

• Quit smoking. Smoking is bad for every part of the body, so it should come as no surprise that it’s bad for your fertility. In fact, recent research indicates that smoking consistently reduces sperm count and people who smoked moderate or heavy amounts of tobacco had lower sperm quality than non-smokers or even light smokers.

• Watch the alcohol and drugs. Don’t drink to excess, don’t do any illegal drugs, and be mindful of your prescriptions. Some antibiotics, anti-androgens, anti-inflammatories, antipsychotics, opiates, antidepressants, anabolic steroids, supplementary testosterone, and methadone can all negatively affect your fertility. If you’re concerned about a medication you’re taking, talk to your doctor.

• Keep your cool. High temperatures can damage sperm, so if you’re trying to conceive don’t hold your laptop in your lap, wear tight underwear, or soak in hot tubs. Prolonged sitting and using car seat heaters can also cause overheating.

• Consider a supplement. Certain herbal supplements may be beneficial to fertility, including fenugreek, maca root, tribulus terrestris, and Indian ginseng. D-aspartic acid, a type of amino acid, may also be helpful.

• Reduce your exposure to environmental contaminants. Poor air quality and environmental toxins have been shown to decrease male fertility. Additionally, men in jobs with exposure to chemicals and overheating, like farmers, painters, varnishers, metalworkers, and welders, had higher incidences of infertility than other groups.

• Manage your stress. Stress raises cortisol levels, and cortisol lowers testosterone.

• Get some exercise and some sleep. For each, the key is to get just the right amount- not too little and not too much. Getting enough exercise and enough rest can improve your sperm count. It can also help you lose weight, which can improve your fertility.

If you’re struggling with infertility, call the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, where we love helping people build their families! We pride ourselves on providing optimal surgical results and uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, call 941-894-6428 or contact us through our website.

Facts to Consider When Thinking About Having More Children

What’s the right number of children for a family to have? The average number of kids per family in the United States is around 1.8, but of course, some families have no children at all, while others have six or eight kids! There’s no right answer to the question, so how do you decide? Here are some things to consider.

• First, you have to decide if you actually want children at all. Many couples do not, and that’s a perfectly reasonable idea.
• If you have an only child, you’ll have more to give that child. You won’t have to divide your time among the siblings, and your only child will reap the benefits of being your sole focus. You’ll have more time, attention, and monetary resources.
• A house full of kids can be wonderful, too. Large families are boisterous and busy! Children learn early how to share resources and care for other people, and the sibling dynamic can be very rewarding.
• Whether you have one child or ten is entirely up to you. Don’t let other people make you feel bad for your choice. There are benefits and drawbacks to any family size, and only you and your partner can determine what’s best for you.
• Communication is very important when you’re deciding whether or not to have more kids. Make sure you know how your spouse feels about the issue so that neither of you feel stuck or ignored. Talk it through thoroughly, considering all the details of bringing another human into your life.
• Will your child be happy about a sibling? Will the child you already have adjust well to a sibling? Will the new arrival be greeted with excitement or jealousy? You can’t entirely predict how your child will react, but you know your child well enough to form a hypothesis about it. If you think it could get ugly, but you still want another baby, do some reading on helping siblings adjust.
• Your lifestyle changes with each new addition. If you already have a child, you know that the simplest thing, like going out to dinner, can become a surprisingly big ordeal. Are you ready and willing to double the demands placed on your time and attention?
• Can your budget handle another child? A recent government study placed the cost of child rearing somewhere between $12,000 and $13,000 annually. Make sure you can comfortably raise a new little one before you decide to have one.
• Ultimately, it’s about how you feel. Why do you want another child? How will you feel if you don’t expand your family? Once you can honestly answer those questions, you’re likely to know whether or not you should have another one.

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people build their families. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, call 941-894-6428 or contact us through our website.

Cost of Vasectomy Reversal

The technology involved in a vasectomy reversal has improved significantly over the past few decades. In fact, the surgical techniques used today are nothing short of miraculous. If you’ve had a vasectomy and now would like to start a family, you have a very good chance after undergoing vasectomy reversal. Still, the procedure can be cost-prohibitive, since most infertility procedures are not covered by insurance.

Dr. Green is an extremely skillful surgeon, and his vasectomy reversal results speak for themselves. He’s fine-tuned his skills over years of clinical practice, performing hundreds of vasectomy reversals. Every patient receives personalized care, and even receive Dr. Green’s personal cellphone number.

When you schedule a vasectomy reversal with us, a non-refundable fee of $1,000 is required to reserve the operating suite and high-powered microscope. If you need to reschedule, you can do so once at no charge, as long as it’s at least three weeks before your scheduled surgery date. To reschedule again, there will be an additional reservation fee, which will be applied to the total cost of the surgery.

The cost of a vasectomy reversal is $7,250.00. This includes our surgeon’s fee, surgery center, anesthesia, all consultations, and office visits. Once you’ve paid your initial fee, the balance is due one week prior to surgery. If Dr. Green determines that you require a vasoepididymostomy, no extra fee will be charged. We accept major credit cards, cash, and checks. We also offer a discount of $250 to active duty service members.

Dr. Green offers a payment plan option for those unable to pay the entire fee at once. With this plan, patients are still required to make the $1,000 deposit, and will pay a total of $7,500. $3,500 is due one week before the surgery, and the remainder is broken into six monthly payments of $500 each, beginning the month after the surgery.

If you’re traveling from out of town, many pre-operative details can be handled over the phone, online, or via mail or email. Dr. Green will meet with you before the surgery if it’s convenient, or will talk to you on the phone and meet you at the surgery center on the day of your procedure. You don’t have to stay in Sarasota, as long as you can be at the surgery center by 11:30 on your scheduled surgery day, you’ll be available for a post-operative appointment the next day, and you have someone to drive you home. If you do decide to stay in Sarasota, we’ve negotiated a discounted rate for our patients with the Hampton Inn Sarasota, across the street from the surgery center.

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we pride ourselves on providing optimal surgical results and uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, call 941-894-6428 or contact us through our website.

Benefits of Having Children Later in Life

Is your biological clock ticking? There’s a lot of press given to the scary aspects of waiting to build a family, like aging sperm, declining eggs, and the risks of pregnancy over age 35. Of course, it’s always important to talk to your doctor about your risks before you decide to try to conceive a child. However, there are actually some really great things about being an older parent.

• Science shows that having kid later in life may make you mentally sharper. One study showed that women who had their last child after age 35 had better verbal memory and cognition, and that women who didn’t start having kids until after age 24 were better problem solvers than those who had been younger when they became moms. Additionally, some research indicates that women who have children after age 33 are likely to live longer than those whose last child is born before they turn 30.
• Your child may be healthier if you’re an older parent. Recent research indicates that small children with older mothers tend to be healthier, with fewer accidental injuries as well as fewer social and emotional difficulties. One study even links longer lifespan with having an older father. While aging sperm can contribute to chromosomal abnormalities, this new research shows that it might also produce children with chromosomal traits linked to longevity that lasts two generations.
• Children of older parents are often smarter. Remember that study of small children of older moms that said they’re healthier? It also determined that they’re typically more advanced in their language skills. Research from both the U.K. and U.S. shows that kids born to older dads are more likely to have a high IQ and a stronger ability to focus on their interests. Less distracted by a desire to fit in socially, they’re more likely to be successful educationally, leading to a stronger socioeconomic status. And because older parents are likely to be better educated, their children are often more tech-savvy and well-educated.
• Waiting to have children may lead to more emotionally stable parenting. Many older parents feel that they’re more emotionally prepared for children than they were at a younger age, and research suggests that this is true. Because older parents have more life experience and maturity, they’re less likely to yell at or harshly punish their children.
• The financial stability that comes with being an older parent is helpful. A large body of research supports the idea that financial stability is linked to better health outcomes. There’s also significant evidence that children with more financially stable parents are likely to achieve a higher rate academic success.

At Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping to create healthy, happy families. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, call 941-894-6428 or contact us through our website.

How to Baby Proof your Home

When you are about to have a baby, it can be alarming to look at all the hazards in your home. Your space, which has always seemed benign or even inviting, may now seem like a virtual deathtrap, with danger lurking everywhere. Relax! It’s not as bad as it may seem, and babyproofing is not too overwhelming if you take it step by step.

• First, think about the reasons behind babyproofing. It’s important to keep hazards out of the way of children, not just to keep the little ones safe, but also to make it easier to parent. It’s no fun to constantly say “no”, but you can set yourself and your child up for success by creating an environment that’s comfortable and safe.
• Look for major hazards throughout the house. Anything broken, paint that’s chipped or peeling, wallpaper that’s coming unstuck- fix those things. Make sure your water heater is set below 120° F, and that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in good working order. If you live in a home built before 1978, check for lead paint; hire a lead-safe contractor to fix it if you find it. Cover electrical outlets and secure any piece of furniture or heavy electronic item that could tip, using safety straps or anchoring things to the wall. If you use window blinds, consider choosing cordless blinds. If your existing blinds have cords, use cord safety wraps.
• Keep small children out of the bathroom. Babies and toddlers are drawn to water, which makes toilets, sinks, and bathtubs hazardous. Additionally, bathrooms tend to have cleaning supplies and medications. The best course of action is to secure the cabinets, drawers, and toilets with child locks and then put a doorknob cover on the outer handle.
• Kitchens need special attention. Install magnetic childproofing locks in the cabinets, secure drawers, and lock hazards like liquor cabinets and medicine cabinets. Use stove knob covers and turn the handles of pots and pans inward so a child can’t grab them and pull down hot food. Store cleaning supplies, including laundry detergent, out of children’s reach. Put non-skid pads under rugs and find a way to contain children while you’re cooking.
• Do a sweep of the whole house. In the nursery, make sure your crib is safe with crib rails at the appropriate level and no toys, blankets, or bumpers in the crib. Choose a toy box that’s safe, with no heavy lid, and put finger guards on door hinges. In the living areas, pad corners of furniture, skip tablecloths because of the danger of kids tugging on them, and install window guards.

At Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping to create healthy, happy families. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428 for a free consultation.

Vasectomy Reversal Myths

As you contemplate whether a vasectomy reversal is right for you, you may stumble upon common myths about this surgical procedure. Dispel any misunderstandings before you meet with a microsurgeon about reversing your vasectomy.

Myth: A vasectomy reversal is as straightforward as a vasectomy.

Almost any doctor can perform a vasectomy, a short and relatively simple surgery that requires minimal training. However, a correctly performed vasectomy reversal is an advanced, technically challenging microsurgery lasting two to three hours. You should only trust an expert microsurgeon with years of successful reversals to increase the chance of success and lower the risk of complications.

Myth: All vasectomy reversals have the same chance of success.

Talk to your surgeon about what could affect the success of your surgery before deciding to have a vasectomy reversal. Factors may include:

• Sperm count and mobility
• Any development of anti-sperm antibodies
• Scar tissue following surgery
• Fertility of your female partner
• Length of time since your vasectomy

Myth: A vasectomy reversal must be performed within 10 years to have any chance of success.

If you had your vasectomy less than five years ago, there is a greater than 95 percent chance of sperm in the ejaculate. Surgeries performed five to 10 years ago have about a 90 percent chance, and if 10 or more years have elapsed, there’s an 80 to 90 percent chance. Experienced surgeons can perform successful reversals over 20 years after a vasectomy. (Note: pregnancy rates are lower than the percentages given here and depend on numerous factors.)

Myth: Pursuing IVF is better than having a vasectomy reversal.

While in vitro fertilization is a viable infertility treatment, it should not be your first choice. IVF costs three to five times more than vasectomy reversal surgery, and it comes with serious risks to the mother and baby—all with no guarantee of a successful pregnancy. With the costs, risks, and success rates in mind, a reversal with natural conception makes more sense for most couples.

Myth: Some vasectomy methods are not reversible.

It is extremely rare for a vasectomy to be performed in such a way that a microsurgeon cannot reverse it. The only time this can happen is if the original surgeon removes too much of the vas deferens, the tube that transports sperm from the testes to the urethra. In this case, there is nothing to reattach, and the reversal cannot be done. Again, this is very uncommon and can be ruled out prior to surgery via a physical exam.

Dr. Joshua Green of the Center for Vasectomy Reversal is a leader in microscopic infertility procedures. If you have decided to pursue parenthood, we can help. Dr. Green has completed hundreds of vasectomy reversal surgeries and takes great pride in his remarkable success rates. We’ll discuss your surgical options, costs, and the chance of success based on your specific situation. To learn more, please call our Sarasota, FL clinic at 941-894-6428 or schedule a free consultation online.

Everything You Need to Know About Vasoepididymostomy

Vasoepididymostomy is a corrective treatment for epididymal obstruction, or blockage near the testicular end of the vas deferens. The procedure surgically connects the vas deferens to the epididymis. A successful outcome relies on the microsurgical skills and extensive experience of the physician performing the procedure.

What is the Epididymis?

The epididymis is a tightly coiled tube situated behind the testis. Sperm leave the testicle and enter this tube, where they learn to “swim,” a skill necessary to fertilize a female’s egg. The epididymis is only 200 microns wide, or twice the diameter of a human hair, so operating on it requires incredible precision. From here, sperm empty into the vas deferens, which takes them to the ejaculation ducts. Sperm then pass into the urethra in the penis prior to ejaculation.

What Causes Epididymal Obstruction?

Several underlying problems could cause a blockage in the epididymis, including:

• Congenital abnormalities, such as the absence of the distal portion of the epididymis and absence of the vas deferens
• Inflammation of the epididymis (epididymitis)
• Young’s syndrome
• Accidental injury from a prior surgery
• Side effect of a past vasectomy, especially if the procedure was performed over 10 years ago

What are the Advantages of Vasoepididymostomy Over IVF/ICSI?

In vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are two relatively recent advances in reproductive medicine. IVF is the process of extracting eggs from a woman and sperm from a man, and then combining them manually in a laboratory dish. The resulting embryo is then transferred to the woman’s uterus. ICSI is a type of IVF that involves injecting a single sperm cell into an egg.

Here’s why treating epididymal obstruction with vasoepididymostomy could be preferred over IVF/ICSI:

• If the treatment is successful, couples can have children through natural intercourse.
• IVF is an expensive, intense procedure, especially for the female partner.
• There are no ethical issues surrounding
• Pregnancy rates (11 to 56 percent) are comparable with or better than IVF/ICSI.
• Insurance often covers the cost to correct epididymal obstruction but may not cover IVF/ICSI.
• Sperm can be collected during the procedure and cryopreserved for future IVF attempts if vasoepididymostomy is not successful.

Could Vasoepididymostomy be Right for Me?

Your doctor may recommend this procedure if you have the following:

• Male infertility
• Active sperm production in the testis
• Signs of an obstructed epididymis, including thick fluid expressed from the testicular side of the vas deferens following a vasectomy

Dr. Joshua Green of the Center for Vasectomy Reversal is a leader in male infertility microsurgeries, including vasoepididymostomy. Whether you’re simply struggling with male infertility or you want to reverse a prior vasectomy so you can have children, we can help. If you require vasoepididymostomy alongside a vasectomy reversal, we can perform this additional procedure at the same time for no extra cost. To learn more, please call our Sarasota, FL clinic at 941-894-6428 or schedule a free consultation online.

Can Old Vasectomies Be Reversed?

Vasectomy reversal has come a long way over the past several decades, and the technology has improved so much that the procedure has a high success rate. There is some concern, though, about vasectomies that are over 15 years old. Can they be reversed? How does the success rate differ between these “old” vasectomies and more recent surgeries?

Good news: older vasectomies are almost as easy to reverse as newer ones. Most men continue to produce sperm throughout their lives, so fatherhood is possible late in life. Sometimes an older vasectomy can develop a blockage in addition to the vasectomy, which makes it more complicated to restore sperm flow. Fortunately, advances in microsurgical techniques mean this is not an insurmountable obstacle.

If there’s more than one point of obstruction blocking the flow of sperm, the surgeon may choose to perform an epididymovasostomy. While a typical vasectomy reversal involves removing the blockage and reattaching the severed ends of the vas, an epididymovasostomy is more complex. In this procedure the original blockage is removed, just as in the vasovasostomy, and the semen is examined for sperm. If sperm are not present, it indicates a second blockage. In this case, the vas deferens is connected to the epididymis, rather than simply having the ends connected back together.

New research indicates that the rates of moving ejaculated sperm counts after a reversal are close in old and new vasectomies. The younger vasectomies have an 88 percent chance of having a healthy sperm count, while the older ones have a 65 percent chance. The sperm counts in the two groups were identical, averaging 55 million sperm. This is encouraging, because it means that even old vasectomy reversals have a good chance of restoring fertility.

Of course, a successful reversal does not guarantee pregnancy. There are many factors that come into play in fertility. If a couple cannot conceive after a vasectomy has been successfully reversed and the sperm count is good, there may be an undiagnosed fertility issue with the female partner. The most important factor in the vasectomy reversal itself is the skill of the surgical team. Microsurgery is extremely complicated, and success requires the work of a skillful and experienced surgeon. A surgeon who is well-versed in vasectomy reversal and proficient at microsurgical techniques can often successfully reverse a vasectomy that’s 20 years old or older.

If you’re interested in reversing your vasectomy and you’re looking for an experienced professional surgical team, the Center for Vasectomy Reversal is here for you. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 for a free consultation.

How late is too late to have children?

There’s a lot of talk about women and their biological clocks, but you don’t often hear all that much about men in that context. Why is that? Do men have a biological clock? Men can father children at much later ages than women can get pregnant, it’s true, but should they? Are there risks inherent in being an older father? How late is too late to have children?

In fact, reproductive aging is a reality for both men and women. Just because men don’t hit menopause, that doesn’t mean there are no consequences associated with their advancing age. Both men and women experience declining fertility and hormone levels as they get older. Worse, the risk of health complications for the child also increases. When a father is older, the couple is likely to have more difficulty conceiving, a higher risk of miscarriage, and a higher potential for health problems in the baby.

Women’s reproductive capability begins to decline around age 35, while men experience a more gradual decline that begins around 40. When a woman does conceive after age 35, it’s referred to as a geriatric pregnancy, and there’s a lot of focus on what could go wrong. Over 35, women are at higher risk of miscarriage, gestational diabetes, chromosome issues, high blood pressure, low birth weight, and caesarean delivery. Perhaps because the woman is the one carrying the child and going to the prenatal appointments, this is all well-known and well-established. However, research indicates that the genetic quality of a man’s sperm degrades as he ages as well.

Unlike women, who have a finite number of eggs, men produce sperm throughout their lifetimes. The existing sperm replicates its DNA and splits, over and over, until late in a man’s life. Unfortunately, all that splitting means the DNA can change a little bit every time the process is repeated. The result is that the number of genetic mutations in a man’s sperm increases steadily and gradually as he ages. These mutations make it more likely to conceive a child with conditions like schizophrenia or autism.

The good news is that even for older parents, the chance of having a child with a genetic disorder is still low. Understanding the facts about male fertility should, however, encourage people to consider beginning their families earlier or taking measures like egg freezing and sperm banking to allow them to postpone conception. Of course, there are also advantages to being an older parent. When people take time to establish themselves before they have kids, they’re better educated and more financially stable when they do start their families.

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people build their families. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website, or call 941-894-6428 for a free consultation.