A German company says it plans to revolutionize the male contraceptive market by releasing a product that allows men to switch their sperm flow on and off using surgically-inserted valves that were invented by a carpenter.



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The Bimek SLV — also known as the "dick click" — could serve as an alternative to vasectomy procedures, which involves surgically cutting and sealing the vas deferens, tubes that transport sperm from the testicles to the urethra.

The procedure to insert the valves only takes about 30 minutes, and the company claims that the device is just as effective at preventing pregnancies as traditional methods. Once inserted, all you have to do is physically switch the valve on and off through the scrotum, a pouch of skin that contains the testicles, diverting the sperm until you flip the switch back.

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But some experts argue that the Bimek SLV could pose unforeseen health risks.

"My assessment is that implanting the valve could cause scarring where it meets the vas deferens," Wolgang Bühmann, a spokesperson for the Professional Association of German Urologists, said. And that scarring could inhibit the flow of sperm even after the the valve is switched back to the "off" position.

So far, the only person who has the "dick click" device is the guy who invented the product, Clemens Bimek. But the company wants to implant the valve in 25 men in trials this year.

"Many of the doctors I consulted didn't take me seriously," Bimek said. "But there were some who encouraged me to go on tinkering and helped me with their expertise."

In defense of the dick click.

The appeal of the product is largely related to the fact that a fraction of men who undergo the painful process of getting a vasectomy go back into surgery to get expensive reversals. Five percent of men who got vasectomies in the U.S. go back for reversals — and the number would probably be larger if the costs of surgery weren't so high.

There's also the low rate of pregnancy success after vasectomy reversals to consider; the chances of having a pregnancy following a reversal (within 10 years of the vasectomy) is only 55 percent, and if you wait more than 10 years, the percentage drops to 25 percent, the Independent reported.

Check out this ATTN: video on the penile product here.