Questions re: premature retraction of intact DS

[flagirl1]

My DS is intact. He had to get a cath at 4.5 months to check for a UTI. The nurse retracted it some and its never looked the same. Its not the same smooth skin as it was before, but now its kind of bulbous on the tip. Not sure how else to describe it - maybe I can upload a photo later. He is now 8 months and its looked the same since the day of the cath (so its not swelling that will go away, etc.). He doesn't seem to have any problems urinating and it otherwise doesn't seem to bother him and we all leave it alone.

So my questions are: does the fact that the skin at the tip is now bulbous indicate damage to the tissue? Will he have problems later on from this? Will he naturally retract the way he's supposed to later on? Or will any potential lasting damage cause him to need a circ later? Anyone have experience w/ this? If your child was prematurely retracted, did the foreskin look the same before as it did after the retraction? . . . I'm just trying to figure out if the fact that it looks different now is an indication of something wrong

I don't think my ped has had much experience w/ intact boys; he told me he thought DS would need a circ later on just based on how it looks now (to which I promptly started bawling). I know the cath was necessary and I talked to the nurse about not retracting before the procedure but it happened anyways.

Thanks!

[tammylsmith]

bump

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Odds are that any damage done was minor and it wont be an issue for him long term. It looking different could just be him aging. I know my ds's dosnt look like it did every few months from birth.

The only way to know if it did cause issues is to wait until puberty and if he has trouble then you will know but other than that there is nothing you can do.

Your ped. dosnt know what he is talking about. Very few boys need circ later in life and the ones that do only need them if they have frostbite, gangrene or cancer as you can imagine the odds of that happening are pretty much zero.

I would avoid any advice from your ped on your ds's intact penis from here on out since he obviously is not up to date on that part of the anatomy.

[glongley]

Don't worry about the change of appearance. A little bit of poochiness to the tip is a completely normal way for a foreskin to look (as opposed to outright swelling). It is true that your son's foreskin will look different in various ways as he grows. You can let go of it - nothing to worry about.

Gillian

[eepster]

Most likely the retraction broke the natural adhesions right at the tip of the penis. When he was fully attached, the foreskin was held against the glans giving it a smooth appearance, now that it's loose it just looks loose and baggy. A similar change of appearance occurred when my DS went through natural separation.

I did a survey just a few weeks ago to see if premature retraction lead to trouble during the separation process later, and there was no evidence that would happen. I know an online survey isn't exactly a scientific study, but it is pretty reassuring anyway.

Usually the damage from single retractions show up quickly as infections or paraphimosis. Long term effects are usually from repeated retractions.

If he has a suspected UTI again, insist they tape a baggy on to him to collect the urine.