# buried penis?



## mahra (Dec 22, 2001)

Has anyone heard of a buried penis? I have been told my 11 month old son has one and that he needs surgery to correct it. I am trying to find anyone whose son had this surgery that could give me their input. Thanks a lot!
mahra


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

I just did a quick search and found a good page on it. It has photos of pre and post surgery if you click on the link (warning- a bit graphic).

http://www.altermd.com/pconstruct/urethral.htm

Here's another two:
http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/...il.cfm?id=2351

http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/...il.cfm?id=3168

It looks like in many cases surgery is not necessary, and that it may correct itself with age and time. Maybe you could get some other opinions before you go through with surgery.

Darshani


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## mahra (Dec 22, 2001)

thanks a lot for the info. i actually found those links myself after doing a search previously. my concern is my pediatrician says it's not necessary (surgery), but we took him to a pediatric urologist at the best children's hospital in chicago and he said that surgery is needed and we don't know what to do. i personally don't see the need, but also understand i am not a man and have been told by every man i spoke to how important there penis is to there self image, especially as a child, and if they were my son they'd want it to be done. i want to do what's best for my son, so i'd appreciate any info from anyone. thanks so much.
mahra


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## Drewsmom (Jan 12, 2002)

I'm glad I saw your post. My son has this. He was just fine (more visible) after he was born but then gained weight very rapidly and is just now starting to even out as far as weight goes. His penis retracts into his skin. I asked my dh about this when he was a few months old (he is now 1 yr.) and he told me not to worry about it. All of my pediatricians have told me that it's perfectly fine and that he'll out grow it. I should mention that ds is circ'd, he told me to beware of other dr.s or people who might say that he needed to have it "redone" that he was just fine. I hope this helps. I know that I would personally wait until ds is older and if it's still a problem when he's 10,11,12 and if he wants to have something done about it that we'll take it from there. 2nd, 3rd and 4th opinions are great.


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## BAU3 (Dec 10, 2001)

My son has this too! Although now, at 16 mos. he sems to be getting bettter.. although sometimes it still retracts right in, for the most part it is now an "outie".. its never really concerned me.. although it always bothered my husband.
Why does the surgeon feel it is necessary? does he have any problems peeing etc? or is he concerned cosmetic-wise?


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## kykarraliv (Jan 26, 2002)

I would go for a 2nd opinion. My nephew as a baby had the same thing, you coulcn't even see where a penis should be. The dr told his mom that some baby's are like this because of the fat pad abouve his pubis. She was told not to worry about it he would out grow it. Which he did. He is now 11 yrs old and his penis is just fine. Unless it is a emergency I would give it time and get another opinion.


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## mahra (Dec 22, 2001)

wow, you all are wonderful for sharing that info with me. i never thought his penis being partially "in" was a big deal until he got adhesions on his penis (he is circumsized) and i didn't know he had adhesions and they unashesed and his penis was bleeding a little. i took him to the emergency room (it was saturday and i just wanted to get it checked out). we saw a male nurse who made a huge deal out of his penis, said it was "buried" and that he needed surgery. he was very offensive and kept saying "he has no visible external sexual organ", which is not true. i kept asking him why it was a big deal, he can urinate, he get's little erections and it sticks out, so i assume he'll be able to have sex when he grows up, basically it works and it looks fine to me. finally the nurse admitted to us that his son had this (buried penis) and he had surgery to correct it. i took him back to my pediatritian today and he got very upset that the urologist said he should have surgery. he brought his partner in and they both said he has a normal penis for his age. my pediatritian is wonderful and is calling the urologist to talk to him about it. anyways, my husband and i have now decided against the surgery. we just want to do what is best for him and we're worried it would affect his self image to have a partially concealed penis. i just want the best for him. i don't want to promote the idea that you have to have a penis that looks a certain way, but he does live in this society and i want him to be as happy as he can and feel good about himself, you know. it has been a tough issue for us. we just want him to be happy. thanks again for sharing...i really appreciate it.
mahra


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## mahra (Dec 22, 2001)

i forgot to add, i am also concerned with toilet training. if it's "in", i am concerned he will have a hard time holding it to urinate. any ideas?
mahra


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

I'm so glad you are not getting the surgery! Some people really overreact to things and feel that the have to fix them. I was scheduled for surgery after my old dr. saw that my stomach muscles split during pg and never returned back to normal. I talked to my ob/gyn about it and he said was very common and no surgery was needed, I should just exercise and wear a support belt in future pregnancies. That whole experience taught me to get 2nd opinions!

About potty training-- lots of little boys just sit down to pee. They have those little guards on the potty chairs.

Darshani


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## kykarraliv (Jan 26, 2002)

Good for you! He may just grow out of this.


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## hippiemom (Jan 7, 2002)

wow, my nephew's penis looked very much like the pre op pics in the site USA mom linked to, but none of us were ever aware that this was any sort of "condition". we just figured he was a little guy with a teeny penis







and he was. he did have a weird sort of circ that looks a bit different, but now that he is older (3.5) he looks much more "out" as all of his body parts have grown and he is not so chubby anymore. this sounds like a case where you can wait and see as long as there are no problems with urination, etc.


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## copslass (Apr 19, 2003)

Dear mahra,
I wouldn't want to rush into another surgery either.
I would hope that he may grow out of it as well, although "Buried penis" seems to be a complication of the surgery of circumcision.

You might want to check out the circ forum for information on the subject.

Best of luck,
Tracy


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## mahra (Dec 22, 2001)

i have also read that "buried penis" may be a complication of circumsision, but i don't think so in my son's case. his penis looked buried from birth, even before the circumsision. i know sometimes they take too much skin off when they do the circ, which can make the "buried penis" worse, or cause it, but my son's circ was like a half circ i think. i do have my reservations about circ and wonder whether we should have had it done, but i am positive in his case it did not cause his penis to be "buried" or in more than "normal" as it was this way when he was born. thanks a lot for your input!
mahra


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## funkmy (Jul 14, 2004)

Hi, My husband and I have always wondered (worried) about my 3 year old son's penis. We have taken him to 3 pediatricians and they all said it is fine and we always felt like we were being blown off about it. We stopped worrying about it until now and it frustrates me that none of the doctors gave us an explanation. I got online and have been trying to find out some explanation for myself. I happened to stumble on your thread and I think this might be what my son has. His penis is hidden and cant be seen at all unless he has an erection then it pokes out some. We are potty training and he has to sit down to go. I was so relieved to find out that their is some possible explanation and that my son is not the only one out there with this condition and have found all the responses to your thread quite helpful. I talked to my husband last night about finding this info and we are both lost on what we should do about this. We have many questions and don't know if we should take him to another pediatrician or make an appointment with an Urologist or just to see what happens. If anyone has any additional info please respond. Thank you.


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## JaneS (Jan 11, 2003)

I seems like the surgery just moves skin ... I would think that should be considered cosmetic? After looking at the diagram of the procedure, it would seem to me that the explanation of the fat pad reducing as the babe grows seems very likely.

If it were my guy, I wouldn't touch it at all. The risk of severing nerves and doing irreversable damage is just too great IMO. At puberty, the penis grows due to increased hormones anyway. Unless there is a hormonal component, his penis is just how it was meant to be.

Maybe you could ask this question of a larger parenting board. There could be mamas and papas who have had the experience of allowing their son to grow out of it. Also, I wonder if the experts on the Circ board here have any learning on this.


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## Donna Norrell (Aug 10, 2013)

My son was 8 years old before I got a doctor to agree to send him to a urologist who diagnosed him with a buried penis. I wish they had listened sooner, but I am every so grateful for the work the doctor did on him and the hope we now have. I know as an adult, he is going to be glad we did all this. Don't give up, and keep pushing forward no matter how scary it is or how often you get pushed aside. MAKE SOMEONE LISTEN!! Donna


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