Medical Circumcision??? - Page 2

[Tinijocaro]

Ballooning and tiny opening are both normal.

DS(14) ballooned until around 11 years old, DS(10) ballooned until about 6.

[MyBoysBlue]

Here is a link that might help explain things.

http://www.cirp.org/library/normal/

[glongley]

Originally Posted by nicolebug

Was the opening in their foreskins extremely small??? That's what I'm worried about, it just doesn't seem as though it will ever be big enough to fully retract. It's such a tiny opening!

Two things:

1) Quote from Sir James Spence, eminent British pediatrician: "What looks like a pin point opening at 7 months will become a wide channel of communication at 17."

2) My older son had an opening that was literally the size of a pinhead till he was about 8. Then very quickly the opening started getting looser and looser, and almost overnight he became completely and easily retractable. I don't think I would have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself.

Trust the natural process! That urologist doesn't know much about foreskins, it would appear.

Gillian

[nicolebug]

Thank you all for the advice!

You all have been very helpful. I knew that there were other answers out there. It's my sons first birthday today and I am so glad that I have all of this great information! Thanks again!

[beru]

Originally Posted by Mama2Kayla

Yes to all of this. My ds just went thru potty training, so I've been watching him pee quite a bit lately . His foresking actually opens up to expel the urine. When he is done it is back to its normal self where you really can't see an opening. I have no idea how much my son retracts yet as I have never seen him pull it back before, but it can't be very much.

This.

I never knew about this sphincter action until I saw it in person watching my son pee. It's amazing. Have you tried to watch when he pees? Watch for his foreskin to dilate like my son's does.

Finally, if it was my son, I would only be concerned if it caused my son pain or infections.

[Quirky]

Honestly, mama, I wouldn't even bother with the time and trouble of a second opinion as long as he is peeing normally. Ballooning is normal, and having a sphincter that looks like a pinhole when it is not in use is normal.

Going to a US-educated doctor is a risky thing to do when it comes to the intact penis, because most of them are never educated on the structure and function of the intact penis, but rather got their education in a system that was heavily biased towards circumcision. To the point that many medical textbooks show circumcised males as if that is normal anatomy, and the most experience many doctors have ever had with a foreskin was cutting one off.

To flip it around, it would be like taking your daughter in for labial adhesions to a doctor in a country where the vast majority of girls are circumcised....you'd get a medical 'opinion' that the labia are dirty, prone to problems, and are best removed. The opinion in either case doesn't reflect medical reality, but cultural bias and medical myths.

[PuppyFluffer]

Originally Posted by Quirky

To flip it around, it would be like taking your daughter in for labial adhesions to a doctor in a country where the vast majority of girls are circumcised....you'd get a medical 'opinion' that the labia are dirty, prone to problems, and are best removed. The opinion in either case doesn't reflect medical reality, but cultural bias and medical myths.

So very true.

[Quirky]

Yep, and adults can choose. It's his body and his penis -- why shouldn't it be his choice? Just as it should be a woman's choice to augment or reduce her breasts, or have her clitoral hood (her prepuce = foreskin) removed.

The "do it now because it's so much worse as an adult" argument just doesn't hold water -- my father was circumcised as an adult (for his own reasons, no medical necessity at all) and it was an outpatient procedure, with pain relief during and after the procedure. Nor was he peeing and pooping on an open wound.

[To-Fu]

Just a reminder that religious discussion of circumcision does not belong in TCAC, as per the forum guidelines:

The discussion of or reference to religion is outside of the scope of this forum. Any posts which bring any aspect of religion into the discussion are not appropriate and will be removed. Respectful discussion of a religious nature regarding circumcision, alternatives, etc. may be hosted in the Spirituality forum. The Spirituality forum is a debate-free zone. Members maintain a list of helpful websites in a Web Resources thread for further information about religious issues.

Carry on.

[ShadowLark]

Originally Posted by Quirky

Yep, and adults can choose. It's his body and his penis -- why shouldn't it be his choice? Just as it should be a woman's choice to augment or reduce her breasts, or have her clitoral hood (her prepuce = foreskin) removed.

The "do it now because it's so much worse as an adult" argument just doesn't hold water -- my father was circumcised as an adult (for his own reasons, no medical necessity at all) and it was an outpatient procedure, with pain relief during and after the procedure. Nor was he peeing and pooping on an open wound.

Really? I've read that guys also need meds to prevent erections during the healing time (4 to 6 weeks) as well - is that true? (Or was it true for him, actually.) I'm a bit scared of the potential for those meds to mess EVERYTHING up - like as a WAY rare side effect, they'd cause permanent impotence or something.

I want my future sons to have the option if they decide to get it done. But I don't want them to need meds that could make what SHOULD have been a simple procedure turn into a lifetime of ED. Are the meds essential? Would pain (if he's not healed enough and starts to get an erection) be enough to protect him without them? Because frankly, if it doesn't hurt, he's healed enough. But if he's on pain meds, will that be blocked?

And I can't ask how long he'd need the serious meds, because that's like asking "how long will I need to be on Percocet after a C Section?". For some women, the answer is "about 4 hours" and for others, the answer is "six weeks". UGH! SO many things to think about!!!!!!

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I have never heard about meds to keep the erections from happening. The one guy I know who was circed as an adult for "medical" problems didnt have any but then he ended up having to go back in to have the surgery redone with skin from his bumm because the Dr skinned his poor penis

The odds of an adult male needing to be circed are extremely low. Considering the only medical indication for circ are frostbite, gangrene, cancer and irreparable damage you can just imagine how rare those conditions are.

The key here is teaching our boys about what being intact means and how to protect themselves from the Dr's who have not or refuse to keep up to date on the proper care of the intact penis.

My ds will know that any dr that wants to come at him with a knife is a dr who he runs, not walks from. With any luck he will know enough not to need a Dr. for things that might happen to him and if something where to come up he would know enough to tell the Dr. he was full of it if something was suggested that wasnt right to fix what was going on.

[ShadowLark]

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

I have never heard about meds to keep the erections from happening. The one guy I know who was circed as an adult for "medical" problems didnt have any but then he ended up having to go back in to have the surgery redone with skin from his bumm because the Dr skinned his poor penis

The odds of an adult male needing to be circed are extremely low. Considering the only medical indication for circ are frostbite, gangrene, cancer and irreparable damage you can just imagine how rare those conditions are.

The key here is teaching our boys about what being intact means and how to protect themselves from the Dr's who have not or refuse to keep up to date on the proper care of the intact penis.

My ds will know that any dr that wants to come at him with a knife is a dr who he runs, not walks from. With any luck he will know enough not to need a Dr. for things that might happen to him and if something where to come up he would know enough to tell the Dr. he was full of it if something was suggested that wasnt right to fix what was going on.

So I read something flat out wrong? YAY!!!!!! As for the intact/circed thing, with my boys, it will be a cultural decision. We're part of a path that traditionally circs (at 8 days old). But that's our HERITAGE, not our daily life. If any of my sons choose to walk that path as a daily life thing, they might "need" to make that commitment (getting circed). (BIG might, but we'll see what happens.) So I'm REALLY glad to read that adult circumcision isn't the horrible ordeal that it's been made out to be.

Looks like my son will HAVE a choice. YAY! Because my dh is circed and I flat out asked him "if you weren't, would you bother getting it done?". He said no. Pretty sure most of our sons will, too, and then it will be a moot point.

[eclipse]

Well, babies get erections, too. So if they have to give a med to an adult male to prevent them, they'd have to give it to a baby, too, right? I've never heard of a med to prevent erections in adult men having circs - so I'd imagine what you read was either a flat out untruth, or you misinterpreted something you read.

[Kellyh_01]

Originally Posted by nicolebug

My one year old son is not circumcised and is having a problem with his foreskin allowing the urine to drain. Basically, the urine builds up in the foreskin like a water balloon and then drains slowly. It's only a few second process, but it's very noticeable. We saw a Urologist today and he recommended circumcision. The opening is so small, it can't really be located. He informed us that there is a steroid cream application that we could try, but when pressed for an answer he stated that because the opening is so small, it probably wouldn't work.

If we do have to circumcise him I would rather that he not remember it, but I am concerned about the anesthetic. Is it better to wait and see how it goes, or is it better to have it done now before he will remember it? Is there a possibility that it will stretch on its own? Has anyone had this experience?

My son is 3 and he does the exact same thing. The pediatrician I asked said it's completely normal. It's a sign that separation is happening between the foreskin and the glans, and the opening at the tip is the last part to loosen. As long as the urine is draining (as you said happens in just a few seconds) then he is just fine.

Kelly

[Quirky]

Nope, not true as far as I can tell.

Here's a set of FAQs from a doctor who specializes in adult circumcision:

http://www.circumcisioncenter.com/faq.htm

No mention of meds to suppress erections.

You may be interested to know, however, that circumcision as an infant disrupts the blood supply to the penis by severing the frenar artery. This may be one reason why, on average, circumcised men begin to suffer from ED a decade earlier than intact men.

I can get a cite for this study but it is a published medical study.

Also, infant circumcision is essentially a crapshoot. You ve no idea how big the penis is going to grow, and all of the foreskin is there for a reason, including allowing erections to grow to their full size by giving skin to stretch into. There's no dotted line saying "cut here."

This is one reason why a common complication of circumcision is the scrotal hair being pulled up onto the shaft, and another is bowing/pointing of the erect penis to one side or the other. Another is the skin tearing open and causing micro-abrasions and bleeding because it's too taut. These happen because after the circumcision, a man may not have enough skin to accommodate his erection.

You should also know that even if there's enough foreskin left to allow for a comfortable erection, there's a huge amount lost to circumcision that can never, ever be restored. All of the most sensitive parts of the penis are on the foreskin. Compare running your fingernail over your palm to running it over the back of your hand. Huge difference in sensitivity, right? The back of the hand is like the circumcised penis -- because the glans is really not a very sensitive part of the penis and doesn't have the specialized nerve endings, called Meissner's corpuscles, that the foreskin does. These nerve endings are also found in the lips.

There's more here that you should read:

http://research.cirp.org

and http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/

This study shows that the five most sensitive parts of the penis are on the foreskin and the most sensitive part of the cut penis is the scar:

http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf

So many people think that the foreskin is some useless piece of skin, but it's not -- it's a functioning part of the whole, and cutting it off permanently alters the structure and function of the penis. That's one reason why so few adult men line up to get circumcised -- it's not because they're so afraid of the pain, it's because they know full well that the foreskin gives them a tremendous amount of pleasure and they don't want to give it up! (Unless they have psychological issues, or ignorant medical advice).

[bella99]

My BIL (my husband's twin) had a circumcision when he was a teenager due to painful erections. Apparently he asked for it. My husband says that my BIL spent the better part of a week on the couch, and it was a fairly slow recovery.

Not sure why he had the problems. My IL's are pretty anti-circ, and are physicians.

That said, my husband is 30, has never had any problems whatsoever. He's pretty fond of his foreskin

[PuppyFluffer]

Originally Posted by To-Fu

Just a reminder that religious discussion of circumcision does not belong in TCAC, as per the forum guidelines:



Carry on.

Thank you

[ShadowLark]

That is so COOL! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Quirky

Nope, not true as far as I can tell.

Here's a set of FAQs from a doctor who specializes in adult circumcision:

http://www.circumcisioncenter.com/faq.htm

No mention of meds to suppress erections.

You may be interested to know, however, that circumcision as an infant disrupts the blood supply to the penis by severing the frenar artery. This may be one reason why, on average, circumcised men begin to suffer from ED a decade earlier than intact men.

I can get a cite for this study but it is a published medical study.

Also, infant circumcision is essentially a crapshoot. You ve no idea how big the penis is going to grow, and all of the foreskin is there for a reason, including allowing erections to grow to their full size by giving skin to stretch into. There's no dotted line saying "cut here."

This is one reason why a common complication of circumcision is the scrotal hair being pulled up onto the shaft, and another is bowing/pointing of the erect penis to one side or the other. Another is the skin tearing open and causing micro-abrasions and bleeding because it's too taut. These happen because after the circumcision, a man may not have enough skin to accommodate his erection.

You should also know that even if there's enough foreskin left to allow for a comfortable erection, there's a huge amount lost to circumcision that can never, ever be restored. All of the most sensitive parts of the penis are on the foreskin. Compare running your fingernail over your palm to running it over the back of your hand. Huge difference in sensitivity, right? The back of the hand is like the circumcised penis -- because the glans is really not a very sensitive part of the penis and doesn't have the specialized nerve endings, called Meissner's corpuscles, that the foreskin does. These nerve endings are also found in the lips.

There's more here that you should read:

http://research.cirp.org

and http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/

This study shows that the five most sensitive parts of the penis are on the foreskin and the most sensitive part of the cut penis is the scar:

http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf

So many people think that the foreskin is some useless piece of skin, but it's not -- it's a functioning part of the whole, and cutting it off permanently alters the structure and function of the penis. That's one reason why so few adult men line up to get circumcised -- it's not because they're so afraid of the pain, it's because they know full well that the foreskin gives them a tremendous amount of pleasure and they don't want to give it up! (Unless they have psychological issues, or ignorant medical advice).