[ ARC forum 2 ]

Stuck Foreskin

Written by Paul B. at 11 Apr 2001 00:29:05:

As an answer to: Fused Foreskin written by Worried Mum Again. at 10 Apr 2001 14:16:56:

I concur on all points with Andrew, except that you may not need
to swap doctors if yours is in general sensible and careful. Your
doctor may well be fazed (lack of experience due to the awful epidemic
of circumcision over the last century) but there is absolutely no
cause for panic if you resist the urge to do great things.

> His foreskin is completely fused to his glans all the way round.

As you should recognise from your researches, this is the situation
at birth. Usually it detaches early in childhood, but (as indeed in
girls) it is likely dependent on sex hormones, and may tend to do so
at puberty instead. The only concern about that is that it may not happen
so reliably if it has not happened in early childhood.

> I don't quite know what to do next and the doc yesterday just looked
> at it and seemed at a loss of what to say. He said to keep him
> stretching his skin in the bath and see how things go over the next
> few years.

Quite reasonable advice actually.

A> Right now, every time he has a pee, have him pinch his foreskin
A> shut so that his foreskin balloons up with the pee

Makes absolute sense. Very unlikely to do damage. Another point is to
stretch the foreskin out away from the body from time to time, which
tends to shear the adhesions. And these as well as regular retraction
to dilate (stretch open) the foreskin.

> I suggested the steroid creams but he had never even heard of this
> treatment and didn't seem keen to try this.

That is in itself unfortunate, but as Andrew points out:

A> the steroid cream is to loosen up the opening at the tip, it won't
A> have any effect on the adhesions.

>> He is now pulling it back to pee when he goes to the bathroom

Excellent!

> luckily it is fused JUST behind the hole so he can urinate ok

Not lucky. Normal. It occurs no other way.

> but he could never have a sexual relationship with it in this
> condition, which is really upsetting me.

Entirely unwarranted assumption. Plenty of men do, and never know
they are unusual.

> I know thats a few years away yet,

Andrew alludes to learning to masturbate. Some boys learn this at or
before nine years of age. He might even discover it from the
manipulations advised here but - so what if he does?

> What are the chances of his foreskin coming away naturally with
> stretching.

Excellent.

A> Any other treatment will mean a circumcision

Not if the doctor is competent.

A> they'll take a probe and run it up under his foreskin

One possibility. If his foreskin is sufficiently stretchable to
retract however, the adhesions can be separated by simply pulling it
back as advised here (along with two other manipulations).

If the adhesions are extensive, then anaesthetic would be required,
but although this procedure is part of circumcision, there is no
reason whatever to proceed to circumcision. Only the imperative that
(taking the Australian Medicare system as example) the doctor earns
virtually no rebate for separation of adhesions, but does from
circumcision so naturally feels that if he is going to "take the
trouble" to organise an anaesthetic (which could include a local
anaesthetic injection if he knows how), he might as well earn a bit of
money.

Anyway, do the stretching, you have plenty of time, and keep us
posted. This forum will be here a while (or so we presume).


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