[ ARC forum 2 ]

Re: phimosis

Written by halfclip at 09 Jan 2004 05:30:34:

As an answer to: Re: phimosis written by IA at 06 Jan 2004 01:21:15:

>I suppose his foreskin is pretty long. When he retracts the foreskin as far as
>is comfortable for him, the glans is still hidden behind the foreskin.

How much of the glans can *easily* be exposed when soft ?


> Thank you for suggesting that I have him retract his foreskin when he urinates.

Make sure you also instruct him to bring the skin forwards afterwards, at least until the "danger" of paraphimosis goes away.

>a hard choice. I'm a single mom and I feel like if I wait and the condition
>doesn't get better, I'm going to feel really bad.

No. Au contraire. You are giving your son's body a chance to fix itself. And if it doesn't in a few years, then you have it corrected. Circumcision need not be a "traumatic" event. It is a simple operation, especially in older children where it can be performed in doctor's clinic with local anesthesia.

If the condition worsens to a point where it bothers your son, then circumcision will be indicated at that time. If the conditions shows some gradual improvements, then circumcision will not be warranted unless your son wants it.

The longer you postpone circumcision, the more involved your son will be in the decision to snip of not to snip.

And by agreeing to leave the foreskin and spend some time to educate your son and monitor his foreskin's progress, you are showing you are a more caring mother compared to one who'd want the problem to go away ASAP so she woudln't have to be bothered with it any longer.

> But, then I feel like if I have the surgery done maybe it would have been
>unnecessary.

If you wait a few years, and it turns out that the foreskin hasn't improved sufficiently, then neither you nor your son will feel that the circumcision was unnecessary. If you have it now, you will always wonder if the foreskin could have dilated by itself without surgery.


> The urologist said that they can't do a partial removal of the foreskin.

Get second opinion. If the foreskin has a tight "ring" that prevents retraction, then they only need to snip that ring and leave the rest of the foreskin. However, a partial circumcision does require a bit more care in the first weeks to ensure that the scar doesn't heal into a new tight right. But once it is healed, it is fine.

>wait to see if the hole got bigger on it's own. He decided that he wants to
>wait. I just hope I'm doing the right thing.

Based on that line alone, I think you are doing 99.999% the right thing.

It would be interesting if you came back here in a few years to provide an update on your son's foreskin.


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