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The 2026 men’s Final Four is set for Saturday in Indianapolis — but for Gunter Guzman, none of his seeds will advance.
Guzman, 45, timed his vasectomy last year to coincide with the NCAA basketball tournament. You’ve heard of March Madness — but have you heard of Vas Madness?
It’s the annual spike in vasectomies this time of year. The hoopla dates back some 20 years and appears to be netting even more interest. Northwestern Medicine, where Guzman got the snip, reports performing nearly 1,500 of the procedures annually.
In March, the urology team focuses on six days — Wednesday through Friday of the tourney’s first and second weekends — with most men opting for the first weekend because of the higher concentration of games.
“If your family is complete, vasectomy is arguably the best form of birth control available,” Dr. Peter Tsambarlis, a Northwestern urologist, told The Post.
“Scheduling during March Madness can make a somewhat stressful experience into something positive,” he added. “Distraction can be a powerful painkiller.”
Guzman decided to take one for the team after his wife gave birth to their second child in 2023.
The Chicago couple figured that two kids were enough — they could play zone defense or man-to-man.
Guzman got the ball rolling months after his son’s birth. He was told he would need a two- to three-day recovery window to minimize swelling and discomfort.
He considered scheduling the vasectomy around the Super Bowl or the Masters tournament weekend.
He settled on an “elongated sports experience” — March Madness typically runs three weeks. The tourney was his best shot.
What is a vasectomy?
A vasectomy is a 10- to 30-minute minimally invasive procedure performed under local anesthesia that involves cutting and sealing the vas deferens, the tubes that carry sperm.
Guzman told The Post that during the procedure, he felt “a little bit of pressure” and “tugging here or there, but nothing that was incredibly uncomfortable.”
“People expect high levels of pain followed by a prolonged period of activity restriction,” Tsambarlis said about vasectomy misconceptions. “I have men every week ask if they need to remain in bed for multiple days post procedure.”
The method stops sperm from entering the semen, making it nearly 100% effective in preventing pregnancy.
“There are no changes to erections, ejaculation, orgasm, sensation, urination or testosterone,” Tsambarlis explained.
“The only functional change, other than sterility, is a 5% reduction in ejaculate volume, which is not a meaningful change to most men.”
Is it a sure bet to prevent pregnancy?
It’s not necessarily foolproof. Just ask former NFL cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who famously got his wife pregnant with twins in 2016 despite having a vasectomy.
And earlier this year, TikTokker Rheagan Schaefer revealed that she became pregnant nine months after her husband’s vasectomy.
Though extremely rare, failures can occur if the vas deferens reconnect, there was a surgical error or the patient had unprotected sex before a semen analysis confirmed sterilization.
What’s recovery like?
Guzman said he didn’t experience any complications from his vasectomy — but there may have been some unexpected side effects.
“I actually was looking at my heart rate monitor on my watch, and I could see my pulse kind of going up,” recalled Guzman.
“I wasn’t sure if that was due to me being nervous from the recovery or if that was from watching the result of the games,” the Iowa fan added.
Tsambarlis said that recovering on the couch is “pretty ideal.”
“I request my patients wait four days before engaging in activities that require them to brace their core,” he said. “A good marker for that is if you can do it without grunting, you should be fine.”
Men hesitant to go full-court press on the procedure can bank sperm in case they change their mind about having kids.
Or vasectomies can be reversed — it’s typically a three-hour procedure under general anesthesia to reconnect the vas deferens.
For his part, Guzman wagered that his family is complete with two children.
“We feel good with two. That was something that we were both agreeing on,” he said about the decision with his wife. “I was like, [a vasectomy] is the least I can do.”
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