older boy "needs" circ....

[titania8]

ok, so....i was walking into my dh's work (university) the other day with my no circ bag slung over my shoulder. a former prof of mine and a colleague of my dh's says something about it (in a good way, he's british). we continue walking and he mentions that its ironic that his now 10 yr old *needs* to be circd for a medical condition. i didn't ask what it was, but did say i would get 4 more opinions on that decision. but it really sounds like he was comfortable or at least accepting of this decision.

im a bit leary. but i also don't know what's going on, only that we are in MI and that drs are only too happy to cut.

i was thinking about sending him an email with a link to DOC, with the suggestion that he contact them for a foreskin friendly dr to consult with. but when i tried contacting them last year i didn't get a response. is there a better option? what else could i do? is the DOC a good place to start? thoughts? suggestions?

[Nathan1097]

hmmm.... I'm not sure what else I can think of. I'm in SE MI. Why do the parents feel he needs circ'd?

[jeca]

It may be phismosis(sp?). They tried to get me to circ my son when he was about 7 because of it. It's no longer an issue and that happened without circumcising him.

[Fellow Traveler]

Originally Posted by jeca

It may be phismosis(sp?). They tried to get me to circ my son when he was about 7 because of it. It's no longer an issue and that happened with circumcising him.

That is a common excuse, many docs have this notion in their head that a boy must be retractable by age <fill in incredibly young age here> and know of no other treatment.

[titania8]

Originally Posted by Nathan1097

hmmm.... I'm not sure what else I can think of. I'm in SE MI. Why do the parents feel he needs circ'd?

i don't know, and i am not really in a position to ask. i just wanted to send him *something*, like "hey, you might want to get another opinion, these folks can be trusted." he said they saw a specialist, which i'm thinking is a urologist. and the urologists in this area would know next to nothing about an intact penis. or at least that has been my (admittedly very limited) experience. maybe i'll start by sending him a link to doc and see where it leads.


and no, i don't think its phimosis, he said that at least for older boys it was easier as the skin has separated, so it sounds like he's retractable.

[jeca]

Originally Posted by jwhispers

That is a common excuse, many docs have this notion in their head that a boy must be retractable by age <fill in incredibly young age here> and know of no other treatment.

THat is a TYPO! My son is NOT circumcised. I meant to type without cric'ing him. Damn, that's a big goof considering I'm anti-circ, lol. I agree they throw it around a lot. We decided not to and it turned out fine. I still can't believe I typed that.

[titania8]

Originally Posted by jeca

THat is a TYPO! My son is NOT circumcised. I meant to type without cric'ing him. Damn, that's a big goof considering I'm anti-circ, lol. I agree they throw it around a lot. We decided not to and it turned out fine. I still can't believe I typed that.

i knew what you meant. it took me a second, but i knew you couldn't mean that he was circ'd!

[glongley]

There is almost no medical reason why a boy should "have" to be circumcised. Any problem the kid might be having is probably either normal, but being misinterpreted as abnormal, or can be treated conservatively, but has not yet been appropriately treated by the doctors they have so far seen.

I would see if you can have some more conversations with this father. This is a circumcision that does not need to happen. As a Brit he may be more willing to consider the value of not circumcising. But it sounds like he needs some info on the value of the foreskin and the harms of its loss to circumcision. He may not know this because he just takes his own foreskin for granted. But if you spell it out to him, it may galvanize him to protect his own son.

Along those lines, I would also give him Paul FLeiss's article "Protect Your Uncircumcised Son", which goes over all the "reasons" a doctor might sometime say a boy "needs" to be circumcised an why it's virtually never true. It is very reassuring and empowering, and a must-read for all parents of intact boys.

http://www.mothering.com/articles/ne...uncircson.html

You are the knowledgeable person in the right place at the right time to maybe help make a difference for this boy. Good luck.

Gillian

[Dave2GA]

I think I might give him the articles by Oster and Kayaba on progressive retraction (they are on www.cirp.org) and direct him to that site. He also might want to see Robert S. Van Howe, M.D. in Marquette. Dr. Van Howe is one of the most informed pediatricians about circumcision, the lack of its necessity, and the normal penis. If you want his telephone number PM me.