cut to make hole bigger?

[USAmma]

Hi all,

I've noticed with boyfriends in the past (circed) and my dh (uncirced) that it seems fairly common to widen the urethra on little boys. Some of these holes look so awful as adults and I wonder if it's really necesary, and how standard is the procedure to do this?

My dh has a wide, deep slit in his glans that looks like a botched attempt to widen his glans, and he's so sensitive that he can't stand to be touched there, and actually prefers a condom for this reason. A former boyfriend of mine also had it done and his looked crooked and gaping and very deep. You could stick the first joint of your pinkie in it.

Can anyone tell me more about this procedure in case I have a son next time around?

Thanks,
Darshani

[AnnMarie]

Re: cut to make hole bigger?

Originally posted by USAmma
Hi all,

I've noticed with boyfriends in the past (circed) and my dh (uncirced) that it seems fairly common to widen the urethra on little boys.

I wouldn't say it's common. I've never seen it. Are you sure they were all widened and not just that way naturally? I wouldn't worry about it if you have a son, it's not routine. It's as unnecessary for most as circumcision is.

[Sarah]

Darshani- I think you may have a confusion about anatomy, and what you are seeing is not surgical- but NORMAL anatomy, or perhaps not quite normal anatomy. The sides of the uthreal opening are called "meatal lips" that term in itself tells you that anatomist do not see the opening as a drilled hole- but a gap between two fleshy places coming together.

If you study about how our genitals are formed- the fetus stars out with female genitals and if it is to become a boy- the two halves of the girl parts seal up as the penis grows- so the underside of the penis has a seam (it's called the raphe and can be seen- expecially on the testicals- but sometimes on the shaft too)

On some boys the closure is incomplete- this is called Hypospadias- this can be very severe, or the incomplete colosure can be high up on the shaft- near the testicles... or sometimes it is simply a very large slit at the glans- rather than a hole. It is possible that your husband has a mild case of hypospadias.
These website has some pictures of babies and two adults with different forms of hypospadias
http://www.circumstitions.com/Images...y/hypospa2.jpg
http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/Med...y/abnpendv.htm

In some cases hypospadias is inherited, so you might want to find out if your husband has any relatives who also had it... but it would be unlikely. It is also possible that he was never told that he or anyone else in his family has hypospadias... he may not even know that his penis does not look like everyone else's... so please tread lightly!! If you do happen to have a son with hypospadias- circumcision is an absolute NO NO... if he choses to have corrective surgery as an adult he might want to use his foreskin (or some of it) to reconstruct the penis.

10% of circumcised boys get a condition called meatal stenosis which is a narrowing of the opening due to scar tissue building up.
http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2356.htm
This is corrected surgicly with an operation called meatotomy (sp?) Although the procedure sounds rather uncomplicated (outpatient) I have never heard of anyone who had actually had this done... either people keep this very hush hush, or as I suspect hardly any boys with meatal stenosis are diagnosed or treated and they have to suffer with problems peeing because no one even knows to look for the signs.

I hope that helps,
Love Sarah

[USAmma]

Thanks for the info-- but on both my long-time boyfriend and my dh they both said they had the surgery to widen the hole when they were young (like 3-4 years old).

Edited to add:

My dh's looks like the bottom photo but not quite that severe. Close though. I'll ask his mom sometime again to see if he really was operated on or not. Dh says he was but doesn't remember it. The boyfriend's hole was actually crooked and he said he was very upset about it and felt it was a botched job.

In any case I learned something today! Thanks again!

Darshani

[Debbiemom]

About a year ago some acquaintances of ours had it performed on their son. I was absolutely horrified. They'd taken him in for a routine exam and the doctor decided the urethral opening was too small and that he needed surgery to correct it. This child wasn't even having any problems! The parents never even questioned his diagnosis, just went along with it. They even told me "Thank goodness we took him in for that appointment or we would never have known." To which I replied "What could have happened?" but they didn't know the answer and never bothered to find out.

They said he was in a lot of pain for weeks after the surgery and that they couldn't really see a difference in how long it took for him to urinate or how much came out. This was said with a "isn't-medical-science-amazing-to-catch-such-small-but-important-things" tone of voice. I honestly think they were trying to convince me to have my boys examined "just in case" they had the same "problem!"

[USAmma]

Debbie,

I wonder how men survived for all these thousands of years without doctors to widen thier openings for them? (being sarcastic of course). This just makes me so mad.

Darshani

[Frankly Speaking]

Meatal Stenosis

I have seen estimates of the incidence of meatal stenosis ranging from a low of 10% to a high of over 30%. This inflamation of the urethral opening often goes undaignosed in less severe cases, probably because the glans of the circumcised newborn already is red, rough and raw and would tend to mask the symptoms. I suspect the true incidence is well more than 10%. Meatal stenosis never occurs in intact males.

I suspect I had a undiagnosed case of meatal stenosis. I have a hard area around the meatus that feels like a piece of plastic in the glans. When I urinate, the stream is very hard and fast. It impressed some of my friends when I was a kid. Also when I urinate, the urethra on the underside of the shaft balloons out very large and the flow continues for a couple of seconds after my bladder is empty.

I had no idea there was anything different about me (except for the strong stream) until I started reading up on circumcision at age 50. There are probably many men with less severe complications of this infection that do not recognize the symptoms.


Frank

[Xenogenesis]

Gee I certainly do wonder what my urethral opening looks like upon inspection ?!?