While you’re laid up on the couch recovering from your vasectomy, you may as well have something fun to watch, right?

That seems to be the thought behind a craze dubbed “Vas Madness” in which doctors and healthcare systems see an increase in the number of vasectomy procedures performed each March during the NCAA basketball tournament.

In 2016, in fact, Athena Health Network researchers noted a 30 percent increase in vasectomies during the first round of the three-week tournament over the numbers recorded in an average week. Major medical centers such as New York University and the Cleveland Clinic have reported similar increases during March and early April each year.

“We typically suggest men take 48 hours at home to kick up their feet and recover after a vasectomy,” said Dr. Jared Bieniek, medical director of Hartford HealthCare Tallwood Men’s Health. “What better way this year than with a comfortable chair, an ice pack and your favorite college basketball team?”

A vasectomy is a simple, in-office procedure for permanent male birth control. A urologist performs the minimally-invasive procedure through a small skin opening and cuts the vas deferens, the tube carrying sperm, on both sides. This prevents the flow of sperm into the ejaculate fluid that can lead to pregnancy.

If you are interested in scheduling a vasectomy and having an excuse to watch the games, Dr. Bieniek is offering a Vasectomy Clinic on Saturday, March 30, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tallwood Men’s Health located at 10 Birdseye Road, Farmington. (That’s the date of the South Regional and West Regional men’s final.)

Registration for the Tallwood Vasectomy Clinic is required and space is limited. Call Tallwood Men’s Health at 860.678.5700 to reserve your spot today. For information about vasectomies, vasectomy reversal or other men’s health concerns, click here.