Circumcision

[jessbd87]

Hi dr. Sears,
First I'd like to say thank you for all of your information on vaccines & attachment parenting!
Your website has helped me so much along this journey of motherhood.
My question is about circumcision. (please no debates on here) when I had my son circumcised I unfortunatly did it without questioning the Dr. & thought it was best for him for hygiene. Well, around 1 month we noticed that his penis head would go missing. It looks like he wasn't circumcised at all. We are able to pull the skin back at each diaper change & clean it. My question is...will this ever correct itself on it's own. He is now 7 months old & his penis still "hides" in the fat pad/skin. If that makes sense. His pedi said thisis common & normal & will correct itself. But when?
I'd appreciate any advice you have & truly am hoping that this will correct itself on it's own. Have you experienced this in your practice?


Thank you!!

[DrBobSears]

Yes this is totally normal. We call it the disappearing penis. All the baby fat that collects above and around the penis sucks the penis into the body and hides it. You need to be diligent in pulling the skin back once a day as long as he's in diapers so it doesn't get stuck. The penis will stick out normally once he thins out (3 or 4 years?) and it will end up looking circumcized. I'd say at least 25% of the patients that I circumcize end up having this too.

[jessbd87]

Thank you Dr. Sears! What a relief! I appreciate you taking time out to answer my question. :-)

[ma2two]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBobSears 
it will end up looking circumcized. I'd say at least 25% of the patients that I circumcize end up having this too.

I wouldn't have expected that Dr. Bob Sears performed circumcisions. FYI, the spelling is "circumcise."

Edited by ma2two - 6/6/11 at 2:08am

[alittlesandy]

Originally Posted by ma2two 

FYI, the spelling is "circumcise."

Wow. This is an extremely busy doctor with many, many demands on his time. He is doing everyone an amazing service by posting here. Take or leave his advice, but correcting his spelling in FORUM POST? That's simply rude.

ETA: I have a Ph.D. in English and am a terrible speller. I make spelling errors on this forum all the time and nobody has ever been rude enough to correct my spelling.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by ma2two 

Quote:

I wouldn't have expected that Dr. Bob Sears performed circumcisions.

Yeah, I was pretty horrified when I read that. Poor babies who don't get to choose what their bodies/sex lives will be like.

I came here to ask a question, but now I'm too upset to do that.

[blessedwithboys]

Is it really proper to retract a circed boy to avoid adhesions?  I thought it was best to treat a circed penis as an intact one...let the skin do what it will and eventually it will be fully retractable...or is it a different ballgame once the penis has been surgically mutilated?

[ma2two]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alittlesandy 

Wow. This is an extremely busy doctor with many, many demands on his time. He is doing everyone an amazing service by posting here. Take or leave his advice, but correcting his spelling in FORUM POST? That's simply rude.

ETA: I have a Ph.D. in English and am a terrible speller. I make spelling errors on this forum all the time and nobody has ever been rude enough to correct my spelling.

You're not getting it. I wouldn't correct the doctor on the spelling of any other word. But if he's going to surgically remove an important part of a person's body, unnecessarily, and without the person's consent, not even knowing the spelling of the procedure just makes it seem even more disrespectful. And if you read a lot about a certain subject, you learn the spelling eventually. I don't think he's read much on circumcision, or put a lot of thought into the implications of what he is doing.

Edited by ma2two - 6/7/11 at 11:39pm

[DrBobSears]

I typically don't enter into debates on forums (or is it fora?). I like to give advice and answer questions, but don't have much time to go back and forth.  But I will expand a little on this topic. 

I am completely aware and sensitive to people's opinions on circumcision. I chose not to have my three boys circumcized. In fact, I looked at it as not even making a choice. They were born intact. God made them that way, and I saw no reason to change it. God's reasons for wanting His chosen Jewish people circumsized are His own. So, I'm very much in agreement with you that not circumcizing is the best way to go.

The next area of debate is whether or not circumcision is actually wrong.  As a christian, I have to acknowledge that because God demanded it of His people, then there must be something inherently ok about it. However, I'm not a Bible scholar so to speak, so I haven't reviewed every scripture on it.  But even so, I agree that it isn't necessarily ok to surgically alter infants without their consent.  That's why I try to talk patients out of it.  I tell parents reasons why they shouldn't do it, and I make it very very very clear that there is no benefit to doing it.

I spent years trying to decide whether or not to do circumcision on patients.  I initially decided no.  I referred them to the other doctors in the practice.  But then the other docs stopped going to the hospitals to see babies and I was the only one. So, I'd have to refer any patients that wanted it to OTHER doctors, and I was seeing some not-very-well-done circumcisions, and some really bad ones.  some doctors remove WAY too much foreskin.  So, I decided to begin doing them for the select few of my patients who wanted it.  I wasn't actually saving any kids from it by NOT doing it.  I never even once had a patient say, "Gosh, since Dr. Bob doesn't even do it, maybe we shouldn't do it."  I wanted to make sure it was done right, WITH ANESTHESIA.  I also prefer to slightly under-circumsize, leaving as much of the foreskin on as I can. 

So, that's my story.  You don't have to like it.  You don't have to like me.  I'll be here one way or the other.  BUT I do understand the issues and I mostly feel the same way you do. 

Bob

[fitmommy]

Wow u guys are harsh! So quick to judge...I actually knew Dr Sears didnt circumcize his boys.I saw him talking about it on a video.So that got me to research more & lead me to not circ my son.Thank you for explaining your view point on this issue.

[wills_mom]

I think that is a great explanation as to why you offer circumcision. Thank you for taking the time to explain it so throughly. I have three boys, one of which is circ'd and I believe our doctor who did the circ also was conservative in it. Even at 6, he still has a bit of overage in that area. No adhesions or anything like that.