Please help! Dr. said we may have to circ?!

[mama to 2 girls]

I posted on here a few days ago about my ds having a buried or hidden penis, it seemed to be hidden in his fat pad. It's there and normal size and you can depress the fat pad and it is definitely there.

Well, I took him to the ped. today and she said he has a webbed penis. She said that they usually do circ. at around 9 mos. of age to "fix" the problem. Plus I am also freaking out because she pushed his foreskin down to an uncomfortable (for me, ds didn't notice one way or the other) point. She didn't retract it but any further and she would have. I even told her I was afraid to mention his "problem" because of fear of someone retracting.

I have googled webbed penis and it says routine NEONATEL circ is contraindicated. Some sites say that with "surgery" they have excellent results but they don't say what KIND of surgery...Do they mean circ.? I am so confused on what I have read.

Can anyone help?

[beru]

I don't really know anything about "webbed penis" or what common treatments are but this sounds stupid to me. Your son is not in pain, is not sick and his penis functions. I would not consider circumcision in that scenario. I know you are worried about the future and hopefully someone will chime in with how this condition progresses or doesn't.

[snangel]

A buried penis is one of the complications of circ, it is beyond me why they would suggest that as a "cure" He will grow out of it, the fat pad will disappear. Can you switch doctors...this lady seems clueless....also if you stay bring her some info on not retracting...even just a little, it can do damage.

[latinalonestar]

Originally Posted by mama to 2 girls

I posted on here a few days ago about my ds having a buried or hidden penis, it seemed to be hidden in his fat pad. It's there and normal size and you can depress the fat pad and it is definitely there.

Well, I took him to the ped. today and she said he has a webbed penis. She said that they usually do circ. at around 9 mos. of age to "fix" the problem. Plus I am also freaking out because she pushed his foreskin down to an uncomfortable (for me, ds didn't notice one way or the other) point. She didn't retract it but any further and she would have. I even told her I was afraid to mention his "problem" because of fear of someone retracting.

I have googled webbed penis and it says routine NEONATEL circ is contraindicated. Some sites say that with "surgery" they have excellent results but they don't say what KIND of surgery...Do they mean circ.? I am so confused on what I have read.

Can anyone help?

NOOOOOOOO!!!!! She could not be more wrong!!!!!

Please do yourself and your son a huge favor and never discuss this with a pedi again and LEAVE IT ALONE. As long as he can urinate, his penis is doing what it is supposed to do.

Circumcision will cause the penis to burry further and possibly cause it to never emerge. This is b/c the penis needs the skin to have room to grow.

The only reason to circ would ever be medically necessary would be in the case of FROSTBITE, GANGRENE, MALIGNANCY, or SERIOUS TRAUMA. All very rare.

Here are some resources for you to explore:
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet7.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...uncircson.html

This is very common for young boys and removing his foreskin will not only make matters worse, but it will cause him a great deal of harm.
You can even contact DOC and NOCIRC if you need further reassurance.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE never allow anyone to manipulate the foreskin again. My first pedi did what yours did to my son and it caused him to have premature separation when he was 10 months old. That was very painful for him for about 4 days.

My last piece of advice, you need to get a new pedi. Any pedi that could recommend this for your son is severely misinformed. We have a thread of foreskin friendly pedis. What area are you in? In the future, at EVERY single appointment please tell all pediatricians, "Please don't touch my son's penis".

Remember, your son can urinate, that is all his penis needs to do right now. You will see that he will grow out of this without a problem.

[glongley]

First of all, take a deep breath! You have plenty of time to do research, get second opinions, and consider your options.

I do not have any particular expertise on this, but I presume by webbed penis, they mean that there is some tethering of the underside of his penis, which presumably might cause some unspecified problems later in life. The surgical correction being suggested presumably uses some of the foreskin tissue to graft the area to free up the tethering. (That is the reason circumcision would be contraindicated at birth in a baby diagnosed with webbed penis, in order to reserve the foreskin tissue for this surgical correction later on.)

So I would make a list of questions to guide your pursuit of further medical information:

Does my son truly have a pathological condition? Or is it within the normal range of variation? Or simply some other normal condition like a smallish penis with a large fat pad? Have them describe their findings and concerns.
Is it something that may correct itself in time?
What is the definition of a webbed penis? What is the prognosis for a webbed penis, i.e. what types of later problems might it cause, and how likely or severe might they be?
If surgery is suggested, what foreskin-conserving procedures are available?
What specific procedures are suggested, and how exactly are they done?
How long can one wait before deciding on surgery?

I wouldn't take anything at face value. Ask "why?" a lot. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Get as many opinions as you can.

Although your son would obviously need to be examined to get the best medical advice, you might wish to contact Doctors Opposing Circumcision to see if there is a foreskin-friendly pediatric urologist that you could consult with by phone. http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...t/contact.html

Hope this helps. Gillian

[latinalonestar]

Btw, everything I have read about webbed penis is the same for burried penis. It is often caused and/or further complicated by circumcision. If a boy is circumcised and he gets a webbed or a hidden penis then further surgery is necessary to fix the problem. If a boy is intact and just happens to have a web and/or buried penis, he will most likely grow out of it without a problem and no surgery is necessary.

[perspective]

DEFINITION:
Webbed Penis- is a normal-sized penis where the skin of the scrotal sack extends part way up the shaft of the penis.


GREAT LINK: This is a great site that breaks this down well.
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1125.html

Boys can be born with a webbed penis, or the condition can result from an over-exuberant circumcision where adhesions form between the scrotal skin and the penile skin. Webbed penis usually causes no problems (unless a routine circumcision is later performed).

Children are not born with trapped penis; circumcision causes it. Routine circumcision of a webbed penis or circumcision when there is significant scrotal swelling can lead to trapped penis.

If you have your son circumcised he will get a trapped penis, which is
DEFINITION:
Trapped Penis-is a normal-sized penis that is partially stuck in the pubic fat pad. Scarring or adhesions trap the recessed penis in the fat pad. This condition can predispose children to urinary tract infections or urinary retention.


Second Site:
WARNING: Naked baby penis ahead! http://newborns.stanford.edu/PhotoGa...enileWeb2.html

When traction is applied to the skin at the base of the penis, the web can more clearly be seen. Routine circumcision is contraindicated in this case as it may lead to the penis becoming trapped behind a scarred, tent-like fold of skin.

So this is another example, saying circumcision will only cause problems with webbed penis. And this is coming straight from Stanford, a highly respected institution of knowledge.

Whatever you do DO NOT circumcise your son, especially in his case, it can lead to some serious health problems that may require further surgery.

[fruitful womb]

Echoing perspective's post.

Webbed penis usually causes no problems unless a routine circumcision is later performed.

Children are not born with trapped penis; circumcision causes it.

Routine circumcision of a webbed penis...can lead to trapped penis

All three of my boys were born with a hidden penis. Each was born with a very long foreskin. It was all you could see.

My first was circ'd and suffered severally from his circumcision. You couldn't see a penis. NOTHING WAS THERE! When he grew his body tried to GROW INTO HIS FORESKIN (that wasn't there). It was EXTREMELY painful for him because THERE WAS NOTHING TO GROW INTO. He'd have screaming spells begging for his penis to stop hurting. There was nothing we could do. Although I think there is a cream that can be applied to ease the pain but not a single doctor suggested it. They just blew me off.


My two intact boys, are now very well endowed because they had/have skin to grow into. My circ'd ds is not so lucky.

I dream of revenge every single day!

[guestmama9910]

mama to 2 girls, Well, I've browsed PubMed and JSTOR on webbed, trapped, and buried penises. I'm afraid to say that the majority of information available described surgical intervention, and in the abstracts describing the new improved surgical techniques, they took pains to mention that all the boys in the study were already circumcised.

But here's the reality check for you: is your son in pain? Does his penis function properly? What happens when he has an erection? If nothing is going wrong, if he's in no pain and is suffering no harm, then by definition, his "condition" is not pathological. What is pathological is your pediatrician's scalpel happy circ recommendation.

On the down side, if the penis is having a hard time of it, surgery may be indicated (probably not circumcision). All the surgical methods I've seen described required getting skin from somewhere and putting it on the shaft to elongate it. In your position, I would stand my ground and tell them they could get the skin from just about anywhere except elsewhere on the penis. For the record, the other "in" place to harvest skin from is the scrotum, this seems short sighted to me. If the skin doesn't fully grow back, you may be left with testes that are cinched to the abdomen, possibly interfering with their dropping at a later date and ultimately effecting your son's fertility. It may be less cosmetic, but you could probably argue for them to harvest the skin from a whole other body area, although that presents its own healing problems, such as the buttocks. I wouldn't recommend you take a tissue donation for the kin, however, what would happen if his body rejected the skin on his own penis?
--
AnnaArcturus

[perspective]

Since webbed penis is basically not having the normal amount of skin on the underside of the penis, cutting off skin from the top of his penis does not make much sense. But if you can find a doctor (I STRONGLY suggest a specialist, that is if you think you need to take a surgical route) you should make sure that take skin from an area that is NOT the penis, and is not an area that is known to grow hair on when he is older (having hair on his penis shaft can lead to future problems all by itself)


Its time to start reading up, and finding the right solution for your son.

[mama to 2 girls]

Thank you all so much! I need to start off by saying that she never really pushed it on me...she just said what they usually do and gave me a number for (what she said is) the only ped. urology grp in my area. She is very supportive of my decision to not vax and EBF all 3 of my kids...even when dd1 was on the low end of the weight spectrum...she never pressured me into supplementing. I did kind of bring up that I was uncomfortable with retracting the foreskin back as much as she did and she said she didn't and would never force it, she just moved it to the point it went to freely.

I was totally freaked out by what she said because she kind of made it seem like that would be the only option to "curing" the problem. I would never even want to think about having him circ'd. The whole idea just makes me shutter!

Does anyone know of a urologist I could trust? I don't even want to take him to the one she suggested unless I knew they would leave him the heck alone! Dh wants to have him "checked". He said he wants to know if he will still be able to function later on in life and to get a second opinion.

[onelilguysmommy]

uhm..okay so she thinks his scrotal skin is on his penis..so shes going to cut off the forekin and bring the scrotal skin stretched up to the penis to fix it? wth? :

that is a complication of circ, so many older boys and men having the skin stretched up their penis and have hair on their penis and scrotal skin on it. this is NOT a good fix or even a logical one! leave reviews anywhere you can, and send her info, PLEASE!

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I can understand your dh wanting to make sure but honestly you are going to be very hard pressed to any dr who will know anything about the intact penis.

Your ds is fine now if in the future there is a problem then you can deal with it then. When you ds is verble enough to tell you if he is having issues.

What the dr did, pushing back the foresin just a bit is still unneeded and potentially harmful so she knows nothing about the intact penis either.

Please for now just leave your ds be.

[rhiandmoi]

Why don't you go to the urologist and see what they recommend. IMO you are jumping the gun here.

[mama to 2 girls]

I don't want to take him to the urologist! I am afraid to let anyone go near his penis again! My dh is the type of person who wants to know everything now! So I guess I will just have to try and talk him into waiting a while before we take him to a urologist.

[fruitful womb]

Originally Posted by mama to 2 girls

I don't want to take him to the urologist! I am afraid to let anyone go near his penis again! My dh is the type of person who wants to know everything now! So I guess I will just have to try and talk him into waiting a while before we take him to a urologist.

Ok, but if you do go, copy the questions in Gillian's post. IMO, her advice is brilliant!

I'd say, as long as he is urinating and not in any pain, you can buy yourself time to see if this will resolve on its own. Most likely, it will.

[latinalonestar]

THere is no need to see a urologist. This will just set him up for possibly being manipulated further. I can tell you first hand that even gentle manipulation causes problems. If you would like me to tell you my story I'd be happy to share. There is nothing for a pedi to see in there, there is absolutely no reason to even pull on it in the slightest. Absolutely no reason at all.

Basically, I have never heard of one single urologist that knows about foreskin here in the US. Explain to hour husband that you really don't need to see a urologist b/c your son does NOT have a problem. His penis is the way is should be. He pees, it works. This is something that he just needs to grow out of. In the future (adulthood) if he has a problem it can be addressed at that time. You don't do any cosmetic surgery on a part that is not fully matured. This would be like putting breast implants in a small child or performing a nose job on a child.

My pm box is emptied now so you can pm me if you like. I saw that you tried to send me one earlier.

[bluetoes]

Your son is 6 months old correct? So in my opinion it would be pure madness to do surgery on him. Let him grow and thin out into toddlerhood and then assess then. Ugh I hate these docs who think circ. will cure everything! I would use the available resources on her to find an intact friendly urologist for an educated opinion.

If he can urinate and his health isn't affected why do something now? Get lots of opinions and then go from there. Just because one doc says something doesn't mean you need to do anything right now.

[rhiandmoi]

Do you know anything about the urologist? He or she may say it's nothing, and he'll outgrow it. Or they may give you a list of things to be on the look out for. The bottom line is that you don't know what they are going to say, do, or recommend because you haven't even talked to them yet.

[smeep]

I just skimmed through but it looks like you got your answer about not doing it.

I just wanted to make a suggestion. Since she seems very open to all your other choices I would recommend getting some stuff printed up (not too long but to the point with lots of references) on why NOT to circ (and maybe a mention of other common reasons docs recommend circing which, in fact, you should not) and give it to her. And a paper on not retracting (care of the intact penis) and present it to her in a polite but informative way. It's worth trying to educate her so she hopefully won't make that recommendation again since most parents tend to take their pediatrician's word as the word of god/dess/law/etc.