Help with foreskin "growing back"

[CellarDoor]

No, this isn't for me at all (I'm one of ya'll). I'm trying to help someone by giving her accurate, baby-friendly advice.

He's 21 mos and the foreskin has attached itself to the shaft (adhesion, right?) and is covering the "ring" around the head. She's scared and I'm thinking if she consults the wrong doctor he will be circ'd again. I'm not sure, but I don't think she has any regrets (yet...)

My instinct is to say "do nothing," but what if the adhesion is painful when he gets an erection (now or later)? Will the foreskin he has left become retractable? What options are there?

Any and all help/links/etc. welcomed.

[carriebft]

some of the links and studies here may prove useful:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...13&postcount=2


Essentially, if the adhesion involves the circumcision line, it should be released. She can insist on pain relief during this. If it does not involve the circumcision line, the evidence tells us it will release on its own.

No matter what she decides, she probably should always tell her doctor not to tear back adhesions without pain relief/not to touch his penis.

[RestoredIntactivst]

Yes, we all want to say "So this is exactly why it is best to just keep the knife away in the first place...." (Especially me having the personal experience I've shared below.) But at this point, an angry 'I-told-you-so' isn't going to solve anything.... At least not until the adhesion is solved, then it might be time for a gentle 'I told you so' to reinforce that us 'crazy intactivists' aren't so crazy after all, and maybe get her to join our ranks.


First, she needs to figure out what type of 'adhesion' the boy has...

As already mentioned, if the adhesion involves the circumcision wound/scar line, it should probably be released. This is because it is two wounds trying to heal together just like two sides of a cut on your finger would heal together. In this instance it is the circumcision wound (cut) itself and the wounded glans from where the foreskin was forcefully torn off in the first stages of the procedure. As this type of adhesion develops, it often forms a "skin bridge" between the glans and the outer shaft skin, overtop of (bypassing) the inner foreskin. These can be of varying degrees from just a thread-size attachment to a complete circle of attachment all the way around the glans. Because of the way this type of wound healing occurs, it is fairly permanent and will likely not separate on its own. I know this is true because I had one of these myself, and it remained strongly attached until I had it separated when I was about 20.: The main problem with this is that as the boy's 'package' grows during puberty, the skin bridge can cause the skin to become extremely tight with erections - painfully tight in some instances. I was lucky in the sense that my bridge was small, and (being a 'shower') there was enough looseness that it was only somewhat tight with erections. But it would definitely hurt if for some reason ...... it was pulled too tight. Tell her to do a Google image search for "skin bridge" to visualize this type. If this is what it is, it should be remedied (cut with anesthesia) as soon as possible to avoid these painful complications as his penis develops/grows. Also, getting it done sooner leaves the doctor a better chance of seeing and cutting on the very narrow amount of 'new skin' instead of deviating into either the glans or the remaining foreskin and leaving a divot/tag.

The other type of adhesion, where only the inner foreskin has reattached to the glans, and you can usually see the actual cut-wound-scar is not attached, is generally just the normal glans-foreskin connections reattaching themselves. This is not the same type of healing described above, and they will usually separate on their own just as they would have if the boy was left intact.

Hope this helps!

[Microsoap]

I'm all for the I-told-you-so once this is behind her... well, actually, him. It instantly shoots down the (circ at birth, or) "he'll have problems later" b.s. and what I wanted to add was-- another surgery to heal and another dose of cutting, causing more nerve endings to be severed, which equals even less sensitivity. But I guess since the surgery is advisable, that's the way it has to be... but it sure makes his penis less sensitive than it was before and not up to the 100% sensitivity he would have had if he had been left intact. People would pity a girl who was told her vagina was going to be less sensitive, right? Then why do boys get overlooked in the right to maximum sense of pleasure? But I know I'm preaching to the choir here. I feel sorry for the poor guy.

[Treece]

Originally Posted by Microsoap

People would pity a girl who was told her vagina was going to be less sensitive, right? Then why do boys get overlooked in the right to maximum sense of pleasure? But I know I'm preaching to the choir here. I feel sorry for the poor guy.

Cuz don'tcha know: Circumcision doesn't alter the sensitivity of the penis....... :eyeroll

[samikashi]

Was her son given a "loose" circumcision that she normally pulls back to clean?
Because what you describe is exactly what we went through, for a year, with our son who was (regrettably) circumcised, but has so much foreskin he looks intact.

Tearing the adhesions was a never ending circle of pain. It was really terrible!

I finally followed my instincts and stopped disturbing the foreskin. My son has no problems peeing, erecting, and clearly by the way he twists and yanks his penis is completely pain-free.

So it seems to me that your instincts could be correct as well.