alternative to child circumcision ?

Nicole22

Has anyone's son had Preputioplasty done instead of a full circumcision? My son is 2 and a half years and needs to have something done, he has extreme phimosis. His foreskin cannot be pulled back at all. Personally we really dont want to go getting all his foreskin removed if there is a chance he can keep it with a preputioplasty. We are not totally against circumcision, if that is what he need,s but we dont want to be hasty.
the following is a link explaining this procedure:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preputioplasty

Would love to hear from anyone that has experience with it. We have a consultation in Crumlin next week. I've no idea if they will even do this procedure or if we will need to go somewhere privately to get this done?? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Nicole

Terpsichore

Hi op, our son didn't have preputioplasty, but I looked into the matter as I was concerned he had a case of phimosis. His skin just seemed really tight to me, as well as a bit red at recurrent times. I was relieved that the doctor (Children hospital Tallaght) told us that all was fine with our son and that in most cases there is no need for intervention on little boys younger than 5 years old. Only after this age should you worry about skin problem in that area. The doctor told us that as long as the pee comes out in one straight line then all is fine. If the pee comes out dispersed like a fan then there might be a problem.
Also, we were explained that the first person to retract his foreskin should be your son himself, on his own time. And nobody else, even for cleaning purposes.
I would really be careful with the matter to avoid any unnecessary intervention if possible at all, and keep your son’s skin intact. At two and a half years old I understand he seems too young for diagnosis.
I understand that you haven’t seen a doctor at the Crumlin hospital yet. Who told you your son has “an extreme phimosis”? (our GP actually had to refer us to the Children Hospital and didn’t want to say anything about the case).
Looking for information on the web, I found numerous articles about the incredible amount of unnecessary operations/circumcisions given to little boys under 5 years old, without valid medical reason, only because of wrong beliefs (I’m leaving religious reasons entirely out of this conversation).
I hope the doctor at the Crumlin hospital will give you a peace of mind.

Nicole22

He got an infection in his penis and had to get antibiotics and it was then our GP told us he would definately need a circumcision. During the infection we ended up having to bring him into the A and E as we thought he seemed to be having trouble actually peeing. A surgeon came down from paeds and had a look and also said he would need a circumcision.
I'm very concerned about unneeded intervention, as you said he seems very young and it just makes sense to me that he just needs more time to develop. Unfortunately as of this morning he seems to have another infection (the GP said the infections are caused by very tight foreskin) so I'll be bringing him back to GP again later today. GP said that if he doesnt get something done he will get recurrent infections (His penis becomes swollen, red and sometimes has a puss, very sore). The surgeon said that during the infection he has a risk of his small opening closing altogether and not being able to pee at all which is a medical emergency.
My GP also told me that at his age his foreskin should be retractable!! Again this seems odd to me at such a young age. My GP jumped on the circumcision bandwagon straight away and didnt seem to understand why we had any reservations about it(as did the surgeon). He just went on to talk about all the benifits.
I guess we will just have to wait and see what they say in Crumlin. I would like to wait til he is over 5 myself just to be sure but I'm very nervous of these infections and him not being able to pee, I cant find info on the actual likelihood of this happening though, it sounds abit dubious. I will have to ask them in Crumlin.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply I appreciate it:)
Nicole

Terpsichore

Nicole22 wrote: »

. I would like to wait til he is over 5 myself just to be sure but I'm very nervous of these infections and him not being able to pee, I cant find info on the actual likelihood of this happening though, it sounds abit dubious. I will have to ask them in Crumlin.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply I appreciate it:)
Nicole

You're very welcome Nicole. I feel a lot for your poor little Bunny! Thanks for sharing your experience here. I would be very concerned myself indeed. I hope all goes well for your son and that Crumlin is of some satisfying help. Take care Nicole.