Help, 5 yr old DS might need circ - Page 2

[masja]

My son (4.5) has a similar problem and were referred to a urologist. The way his foreskin is, is that the hole is at the top rather than the tip, so when he urinates sitting down, he ends up peeing under the toilet lid and it goes all over the floor. This has been quite embarassing for him and he feels bad, although we don't make a big deal out of it. The urologist told us that the problem is that his foreskin is too long, so he recommends circ'ing him. When he gets an erection, there's still so much foreskin there that it could cause problems down the road. He told us about steroid cream as well, but that takes a lot of upkeep, as he has to put it on and make sure to gently retract the foreskin several times a day, and if he stops doing it, it could grow back or something. I'm leery about the whole thing, as I know that the skin is not retractable until much later, however I would almost rather he gets snipped now, rather than it cause problems later on down the road and have to get it done. Atleast now he won't quite understand, but I don't want him thinking there's something wrong with him and feel ashamed. I'm at a loss and will probably ask for a second opinion as I don't want to circ' unless I know there really is no other option. Keep us posted!

[Claire and Boys]

Originally Posted by masja

My son (4.5) has a similar problem and were referred to a urologist. The way his foreskin is, is that the hole is at the top rather than the tip, so when he urinates sitting down, he ends up peeing under the toilet lid and it goes all over the floor. This has been quite embarassing for him and he feels bad, although we don't make a big deal out of it. The urologist told us that the problem is that his foreskin is too long, so he recommends circ'ing him. When he gets an erection, there's still so much foreskin there that it could cause problems down the road. He told us about steroid cream as well, but that takes a lot of upkeep, as he has to put it on and make sure to gently retract the foreskin several times a day, and if he stops doing it, it could grow back or something. I'm leery about the whole thing, as I know that the skin is not retractable until much later, however I would almost rather he gets snipped now, rather than it cause problems later on down the road and have to get it done. Atleast now he won't quite understand, but I don't want him thinking there's something wrong with him and feel ashamed. I'm at a loss and will probably ask for a second opinion as I don't want to circ' unless I know there really is no other option. Keep us posted!

Masja - the problem with this is that at 4.5 years old, he's nowhere near finished growing, for all you know by the time he's undergone puberty things may look completely different down there foreskin length-wise.

The steroid cream only requires a "lot" of upkeep because it's not necessary at the age he is. When he reaches puberty the hormones in the cream will be produced by his body naturally and retraction will happen. The cream simulates this process, but in most cases when the cream treatment stops the foreskin goes back to its natural state. It is perfectly normal for him to not be retractable now.

If his opening is in the top rather than the tip, it's not a case of "foreskin being too long" but sounds more like he has hypospadia. Many urologists do recommend circ to repair, but it's also possible to do repairs that conserve the foreskin. These are of course more commonly done in countries where circumcision is not the norm, of course.

If he were my son though I would let him decide when he is old enough to fully understand the implications, it's not really a necessary surgery since he can pee ok, even if he needs to sit down to do it to avoid making a mess.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Masja. Like pp said you have no idea what his penis length will be when he hits puberty. His foreskin now is the perfect size. It actually sounds like your dr went to the same med school as the ped my ds's did because he gave me the same bs about ds and I laughed at him because it was so stupid.

Steroid cream is for puberty and later it is never to be used on a child your ds age. I hope that you do more research and realize that unfortunatly you have yet another foreskin ignorent Dr. that are so prevelent here in the USA.

Your ds will have to be put to sleep to do this are you willing to risk even the slightest chance he will die for something he dosnt even remotely need? You say do it now when he dosnt understand well not understanding and remembering are 2 very different things. He will remember the pain, yes it will hurt badly and will always wonder why his penis was allowed to be hurt. Then when he grows up does the research and sees it didnt need to be done he will be very upset and rightly so.

It is very possible that he is peeing up due to the fact that he has become slightly retractable on the top while not on the bottom causing the issue. At 4 he is old enough that if you tell him to gently pull back while going potty the urine stream will go in the proper direction.

Unless your ds cannot urinate or has frostbit, gangrene or cancer his penis needs left alone.

[calngavinsmom]

Originally Posted by masja

My son (4.5) has a similar problem and were referred to a urologist. The way his foreskin is, is that the hole is at the top rather than the tip, so when he urinates sitting down, he ends up peeing under the toilet lid and it goes all over the floor. This has been quite embarassing for him and he feels bad, although we don't make a big deal out of it. The urologist told us that the problem is that his foreskin is too long, so he recommends circ'ing him. When he gets an erection, there's still so much foreskin there that it could cause problems down the road. He told us about steroid cream as well, but that takes a lot of upkeep, as he has to put it on and make sure to gently retract the foreskin several times a day, and if he stops doing it, it could grow back or something. I'm leery about the whole thing, as I know that the skin is not retractable until much later, however I would almost rather he gets snipped now, rather than it cause problems later on down the road and have to get it done. Atleast now he won't quite understand, but I don't want him thinking there's something wrong with him and feel ashamed. I'm at a loss and will probably ask for a second opinion as I don't want to circ' unless I know there really is no other option. Keep us posted!

There is nothing wrong with your son. There is no such thing as having a foreskin that is "too long", he will need that "extra" to grow into when puberty hits. That doc is full of misinformation.

Even in Canada, where intact is the norm, we still have cut happy, ignorant docs......disgusting.

If your son is having aiming problems caused by a misaligned foreskin opening, it is more than likely temporary. Lots of boys go through this as their foreskins are becoming retractible. Just get him to pull back on the skin slightly to get the two holes aligned better when he urinates.

Here is an article full of great information:
http://www.mothering.com/health/prot...advice-parents

Hope that reassures you a bit.
Take care!

[MyBoysBlue]

My DS pees sorta out of the top too, the top of the tip, if that makes sense. I just make him pee standing and if he sits I make sure he points it down. For him it's just that the forskin is sorter on the topside then the bottom. DH is the same way and has no problems as an adult. I never thought of it as hypospasia or anything. I just thought that was the way it was. All my boys have a pretty long forskin overhang. No doc has ever said anything about it but I never pointed it out either as I never considered it a problem.

[DocsNemesis]

My eldest has a long overhang as well, no ones said a word about it. I've never heard of such a thing-a foreskin too long?? I mean, neither you nor a doctor has any idea how much your son will grow down there when puberty hits. Maybe he'll be really well endowed and need all of it! (Tell your dh that, haha) If not, he still doesn't need to be circ'd-he'll either be happy with it anyway or, more unlikely, decide he wants the excess removed. Either way, its his penis and he gets to decide.

Also, my baby pees out of the top as well, but we don't see any issue with it. Its just the way his foreskin decided to angle. It'll probably get batter once he's retractable on his own.