# What's a circ supposed to look like?



## eilonwy (Apr 3, 2003)

My son is circ'd; he had a Bris Milah when he was two weeks old.

I think that what was left of his foreskin is attached to his glans, but honestly, I don't know what it's supposed to look like. It's looked strange to me from the first time I changed him; he had a very small foreskin that didn't go the whole way around his penis or cover the tip entirely... the first time I saw him, I thought that he had been circ'd in the hospital even though I specifically said not to... but back to the subject at hand:

What's it supposed to look like? How do I know if the foreskin has reattached, and what should (or shouldn't) be done about it? He doesn't look like my husband or nephew (both circ'd)... mostly he looks like he did before his bris. I'm very confused.









**Is this even the place to ask this? I don't even know where to look for the answer!


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## Xenogenesis (May 1, 2002)

How old is he now?


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## Frankly Speaking (May 24, 2002)

To avoid adhesions, the remnant foreskin should be pulled back at every diaper change and the glans and remnant inner foreskin should be liberally coated with Vaseline. This should be done for the first year. This will be painful to the baby but will avoid skin tags and bridges that can be problematic and possibly painful to him as an adult. If the adhesions have already formed, they should be released. You may be able to do this over a time of a few weeks or it may require surgery.

Frank


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## Xenogenesis (May 1, 2002)

Can you ask the mohel who performed the circumcision? Maybe that's the way he does them by not removing very much which would be to your son's advantage.


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## Sarah (Nov 20, 2001)

Elionwy- The way a child's circumcision looks can be very different from an adults because their penis has not yet grown to adult size. A lot of times the penis seems pulled in or the skin seems bunched up because of the size of the penis, but they grow out of it in a few years and it will look more the way you'd expect.

If your son has adhesions (skin grown back to the glans so you can't see the whole edge of the corona) You might want to do some research at CIRP on what causes them and how to treat them (or not) This is a very common circumcision complication and it happens to boys circumcised at the hospital too, it's not something that would only happen because of the technique the mohel used- it is the nature of the body to try to heal and recover the internal organ that was exposed.

This is a picture of a boy with adhesions:
http://www.circumcisionquotes.com/images/slide1.jpg

If adhesions don't resolve they can become full blown skin bridges:
http://www.circumstitions.com/Restric/Botched1sb.html

they usually do resolve though:
http://www.cirp.org/news/ponsky2/

Also some circumcisions look very loose, but as the child grows the appearance changes: http://www.rogerknapp.com/medical/circ_incomplete.htm

These pictures clearly demonstrate why the idea of recircumicsing to remove what someone else percieves is "extra" skin, could be a grave mistake.

I hope these pictures ease some of your concern. It is frustrating that clear depictions of these conditions are so hard to find, because there are a lot of people like you who just can't tell what they are seeing.

You might want to do as someone else suggested and speak to the mohel and/or your son's pediatrician. The Mohel might have some advice but also might want to give more detailed aftercare instructions in the future so parents are better equipped to avoid/cope with things that might happen.
Love Sarah


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