Meatal Stenosis

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Hmm... shouldn't that number trump the alleged "higher" rate (whatever it is) of intact boys having UTIs?

edit: I just wanted to say that I think my ex-dp has meatal stenosis. I'm intact and he is a RIC case (I grieve for his loss even if he doesn't) and he and I were... uh, comparing in general and mentioned to me that I have such a large (wide, long) "pee slit" and asked me if I had a physical defect. He has a very closed together, very short "pee slit", not to mention that upside down "V"-shape indent where his frenulum should be (just more of a puff of skin on the underside). I told him straight out that I didn't. That it was the natural way it is and that his smaller one was probably due to his circumcision. I don't think I had the term meatal stenosis on the tip of my tongue, but that's what I was thinking he has. Based on descriptions and pictures, I would say it is!

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Something so conveniently avoided when physicians are giving the "so-called" informed consent to parents prior to the cutting...

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Meatal stenosis is the great secret of RIC. THe symtoms (difficulty urinating, inability to maintain a steady stream, a split stream) do not manifest themselves until a boy is potty trained. By that time, feew to no parents make the connection with circumcision as the cause, though circumcisiion is the caue in almost all cases. Doctors who diagnose the meatal stenosis never (so far as I know) tell the parents what the cause was, though they certainly know. Thus, parents who have sone with meatal stenosis never know what caused it because the doctors just treat the symptoms (by urethral dilatation or by enlarging the meatus surgically) without telling the parents the cause. I suspect that if parents knew the caue that that knowledge alone could reduce the RIC rate by as much as 10%. By the way, the figures for percent of boys affected by meatal stenosis to one degree or another is generally listed as 9-13%.

I wish I had known this when my son had to have surgery to correct his. It wasn't an office procedure though like they say in the summary. He was in the hospital and actually put to sleep. I can't imagine going through something so traumatic with my son awake.. although I did have him circ'd. I did not know it was direct effect of his circumcision.. and eventhough he was out for the surgery the aftercare was horrific and not quite as "mild" as they say in the article either. I had to put an ointment on his penis and also had to insert a catheter like tube inside for up to 6 months. I am not sure why so long exactly but I think his doctor wanted to make sure that it didn't reoccur. I also noticed he was having a problem after he was out of diapers. He was 4 and started wetting the bed which he had never done before. I happened to walk past one day when he was going potty and heard him crying.. when I looked at his penis I noticed the hole was approximately the size of a pinhole. I had taken him into the doctor prior to this and they told me that he was just displaying delayed jealousy of the baby by wetting the bed. When I saw how small the hole was I knew that wasn't right and got him into a urologist immediately. Had I known that this is caused by circumcision I doubt I would have had my youngest circ'd.. I wish they handed out pamphlets when you are pregnant discussing all the long-term effects of circumcision.. pretty much everything I read was a lie. :

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PLEASE consider a lawsuit. These attorneys will help you and/or point you in the right direction:

www.arclaw.org

You need to send a powerful message to that doctor.

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I think it helped my urologist make a little bonus $$$ off me too. He noted "meatal stenosis" every time he had to "dilate" (luckily I only had to be awake for it one of the three times) me while treating my kidney stones. My guess is he got some extra $$$ for doing it.

When I got a follow up questionnaire from my health plan in the comment section I asked if that was the case. I also stated that I hoped they weren't using my health care dollars to pay for infant circ's, if the parents want cosmetic surgery they should pay for it on their own.

So much stuff gets blamed on intactness, they should really count this as a cost/consequence of circ. I'm wondering if I'll hear back from them......