# [Updated w/ her letter] Doctor Retracted Son's Foreskin During Surgery -- Need Help



## painfulquestioning (Jun 11, 2007)

[Updated portion

Concerned Mothers First Response -- Post 20: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...&postcount=20:

Her Letter to the Doctor -- Post 22: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...4&postcount=22

End of Updated portion]

[posted on behalf of a concerned mother]

While I was pregnant with my son, now 2 1/2 years old, I made an educated decision not to circumcise once he was born. I have heard horror stories from both sides of the fence, personal stories...

As the past two years have gone by, I have repeatedly mentioned to my son's pediatrician my concern that his foreskin is not fully retracting. We moved 5 hours away in February and have a new pediatrician...

Yesterday, my son went in for a hernia surgery. He also had an issue since birth with an undescended testicle that the surgeon was addressing. When my son was in recovery, I noticed that his penis was extremely swollen & asked the nurse about it. She said it was fluid accumulation from the surgery? By the time we got home (2 hours away) I had changed my son's diaper only to find that when I checked his penis, his foreskin had been separated from the glans & I could push his foreskin completely back. I was in total shock. No one, not the nurse when I asked, not the surgeon, prior to or after the surgery, had mentioned anything at all. I called the surgeon who returned my call, calmly stating my 2 year old son had adhesions and a build up of smegma around the base of the head (for lack of a more medical explanation-sorry) that needed to be cleaned and that they check for anything else that may need to be done while he is under anesthesia and took care of it!

The surgeon said to just clean it with a damp wash cloth (as I have to sponge bathe my son for 5 days due to the surgery) pull the foreskin back and apply neosporin aprox 2-4 x's/day. I was able to do this three times so far with my son kicking, screaming and crying. The nurse at the hospital as well as our old pediatrician said to soak, retract and apply antibiotic ointment aprox 3x's/day as well...

I would like to know if you can help me?

-I feel I should have followed my intuition and told the surgeon I did not want my son's foreskin unnaturally separated to begin with.

-I feel I may be doing more damage to my son by pushing back the foreskin now which causes him great pain as I have read about acquired phimosis and don't want to create scarring.???

-I want to tell the surgeon that I feel he butchered my son because I am so angry I was not consulted before he took it upon himself to do this to my child & put him through such pain, but when he called me, I believe that he (and the old pediatrician from our home prior to moving said the same) really felt it was necessary, if not now, would have been later.

-What age really should you start to be concerned that the foreskin will not inevitably retract? I was assuming that the ring of smegma at the base of the head of my sons penis (which you could see through the foreskin) would eventually (and has been...) work its way toward the tip of the penis creating a separation...

I am at a loss and feel I should do something about this.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you-A Concerned Mother


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## midwifetx (Mar 16, 2005)

I've never heard of it taking more than about six years to completely retract.


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## mothragirl (Sep 10, 2005)

i'm NAK, but stop pulling it back! it needs to heal. you don't need to worry about it retracting for a long time, once he starts playing with it it will happen. poor baby







.


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## guestmama9908 (Jan 23, 2007)

OMG that is horrible! That surgeon essentially assaulted her son. He broke the synechia connecting the foreskin to the glans and forcibly retracted him and then "cleaned" him all WITHOUT any sort of consent form from the mother.







: That is the classic definition of assault. He cannot legally just "check" for anything else that needs to be taken care of during surgery and do what he sees fit. (I'm a nurse I know how informed consent works)

The mother should immediately stop retracting her son. More than likely the foreskin will fuse back to the glans and all will be well. If she continues to retract him then she could cause even more damage.

All boys begin to retract at different times and at different ages. More than likely her son will become retractable before or during puberty. Some do not become retractable until much later. She shouldn't be concerned at all. Her son can do stretching exercises or get a presciption cream if he is not retractable as an adult.

I would tell her to write a letter to that physician and include the AAP's statement on intact care.


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## veganf (Dec 12, 2005)

OMG, I would be furious. She should definitely just leave it alone, maybe soak him in a warm bath with epsom salts and calendula tincture a few times a day and allow him to heal.
And I would send a copy of proper care of the intact penis from the NoCirc website.
Many boys do not retract until puberty.







:


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## Leiahs (Jul 29, 2005)

Mental note:
If I ever have to send DS into surgery, I will definitely make a point to tell every doctor and nurse I come in contact with that I will sue their pants off if they so much as TOUCH my son's foreskin without express permission.

It is absolutely horrid that this surgeon took it upon himself to check for other things and then "fix" them without even once asking the parent in charge. That it caused damage is even more reason to take some action, even if that action only includes sending proper information from very official looking sources (like Dave2GA's law firm, or D.O.C., etc.).


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## fruitful womb (Nov 20, 2004)

Print this out and send it to the Doctor. Print a second copy and personally hand it to him during the next visit. Its a statement from the AAP.

http://www.medem.com/search/article_..._typ=NAV_SERCH

That doctor violated your child!!!

The rest of this post is quoted information on the necessary steps for action.

The attorney for Doctors Opposing Circumcision, John Geisheker, will send a letter to the doctor/nurse/hospital pro bono (free) on your behalf telling them what they did was wrong and the consequences. It isn't a letter stating you'll sue but it is fully referenced and ought to get their attention.

Email him at [email protected]

Before you contact John, you will need the following information:

The name of the doctor or nurse who did this, the name of his/her practice and their (snail) mailing address.

The name of the hospital where the doctor has privileges, (the hospital where they practice) and the mailing address. (even if it didn't happen at the hospital)

The name of the CEO or Administrator of the hospital. (even if it didn't happen in the hospital, find out where the offending doctor has privileges and send it to those hospitals)

The name of the hospital's risk manager.

The name of the head of the department (OB, peds, emergency, etc.)

Letters will also be sent to:

The state medical board in your state.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (hospitals fear them like a boogeyman)

The sooner you do this the better. There is no such thing as over reacting when it comes to the safety of your child's foreskin. I had a friend of mine literally slap the doctor's hand before he could retract her son's foreskin. Of course the doctor had all kinds of things to say to her about what he knows best about the care of the intact child.







: She didn't fall for his ignorance and never went back there again. I wonder if doctors really do know not to retract the foreskin but do it anyways because they also know the damage could lead to a circumcision. Thats ultimately what they want isn't it, to do a circumcision?

What that doctor did to your son really boils my blood!


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## Quirky (Jun 18, 2002)

Ixnay on the continued retraction and on the Neosporin as well! Harmful, and just no need for it. The Neosporin in particular may be irritating and also may destroy the natural balance of beneficial bacteria and pH under the foreskin. You wouldn't insert Neosporin into the vagina and the foreskin is no different!

I would definitely have this mother sit down and write a letter of complaint (with DOC's help if necessary) to the surgeon, the hospital, and her insurance company.

As far as normal age of retraction -- it can take up through puberty and beyond.

http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcisi...etraction.html


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## Tinijocaro (Jan 4, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *midwifetx* 
I've never heard of it taking more than about six years to completely retract.

It often does. My oldest didn't retract at all till he was 11. Then, very suddenly, one day, he told me it retracted. Of course most do retract by age 5 or so, but it isn't abnormal to retract much later. Just as most children walk by a year, many won't walk for a while after a year.


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## Nitenites (Jan 23, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Leiahs* 
Mental note:
If I ever have to send DS into surgery, I will definitely make a point to tell every doctor and nurse I come in contact with that I will sue their pants off if they so much as TOUCH my son's foreskin without express permission.

Speaking from experience (my intact son has had several surgeries because of testicle problems) it's far better to write on your child's groin, "DO NOT RETRACT." Who knows which nurse that your child will get in recovery, or when shift change happens? Better safe than sorry.

In fact, I think if DS has any more surgeries, I think I'll write "DO NOT RETRACT OR MY MOMMY WILL SUE YOU!"







:


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## fruitful womb (Nov 20, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Nitenites* 
In fact, I think if DS has any more surgeries, I think I'll write "DO NOT RETRACT OR MY MOMMY WILL SUE YOU!"







:









:


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *midwifetx* 
I've never heard of it taking more than about six years to completely retract.

Actually it can take to adulthood to retract all the way so being non-retractable till then is not a issue.

To the OP Please stop retracting him and let him heal. What happened was the dr took a tool and forcebly seperated the connecting tissue. He basicly raped your ds.

It is very important to stop the retracting right now. The neosporin is a bad thing as well since some can be very irritated by it.

I agree with the pp that said to contact the lawyer and make sure this dosnt happen to anyone else. You dont need to sue but you need to take steps to protect other boys he may do this to.


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## Yulia_R (Jan 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CalenandEllasmomma* 
OMG that is horrible! That surgeon essentially assaulted her son. He broke the synechia connecting the foreskin to the glans and forcibly retracted him and then "cleaned" him all WITHOUT any sort of consent form from the mother.







: That is the classic definition of assault. He cannot legally just "check" for anything else that needs to be taken care of during surgery and do what he sees fit. (I'm a nurse I know how informed consent works)

The mother should immediately stop retracting her son. More than likely the foreskin will fuse back to the glans and all will be well. If she continues to retract him then she could cause even more damage.

All boys begin to retract at different times and at different ages. More than likely her son will become retractable before or during puberty. Some do not become retractable until much later. She shouldn't be concerned at all. Her son can do stretching exercises or get a presciption cream if he is not retractable as an adult.

I would tell her to write a letter to that physician and include the AAP's statement on intact care.









:
plus I'd try to sue the bastard! He caused alot of damage and pain to the poor boy







. Hope it won't get infected...
STOP RETRACTING IMMEDIATELY!


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## Fi. (May 3, 2005)

This scares me as my son is having an adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy next month and I'm scared they're going to have to cath him and...ugh.


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## Naturalyst (Feb 3, 2007)

While I certainly agree what happened is unconscionable, I don't agree with letting it reattach now without first getting confirmation that the tissue *can* return to a normal state.

This is my concern - the tissue that will grow now to reattaching the foreskin to the glans will be mostly scar tissue. Scar tissue does not act the same way as normal tissue and, so, it may not - probably will not - separate in the normal course as her son ages. I fear that to achieve retraction, he may need yet another medical intervention later.

If it were me, I would consult another pediatric urological surgeon (in another hospital, in another location) to determine the course of least harm. Since the mother has a good relationship with her prior pediatrician, I would suggest she put it to him to find out the right authority to advise.

Please, pass along my positive energy and hope to your friend, that she finds the answers and her son gets the healing he needs.


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

There is no evidence that allowing the foreskin to reattach to the glans will cause problems later. But there is plenty of evidence that shows repeatedly retracting can cause trouble later. To keep retracting him and causing him pain is a horrible thought and it will damage the sphincter on the end of the foreskin causing scar tissue and it being unable to retract later on.


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## PuppyFluffer (Mar 18, 2002)

If a doctor were to insert a medical instrument into an infant girls vaginal opening and rip normal healthy tissue would we call it "medical care" or would we call it assault.

If a woman went in for surgery on her abdoman and awoke with torn and swollen genitals, would we call it "something that needed to be checked while we were in the area" or would we call it assault?

It angers me greatly that this happens to baby boys at the hands of people who are supposed to be professionals and whom we employ in good conscious to help our children.

If this happened to my child, I'd document it all on film - film - not digital photographs. I would never want it alledged that I had PhotoShopped the pictures. One may have difficulty getting genital pictures developed in this day and age of child pornography. I'd contact a small independent photo processor and explain the situation and that you needed the pictures for a potential law suit to prove damages. Maybe even phone and speak to a police officer about this ahead of getting the pictures developed just to clear yourself of any potential reports.

It's unfortunate that the doctors involved have a clue that you are not pleased with the care your child recieved. You have a right to request medical records but I would be skeptical that you'd get complete records now that they are aware of your discontent with their services.

I make it a habit to get medical records on my child for everything. EVERYTHING. I just tell them that I want them for "continuing care" and they give them to me with no questions asked. I suspect that if they thought there was a problem, they could conviently "misplace" some pages.

I am so sorry that your child was violated like this. It really is criminal in my opinion.


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## Nitenites (Jan 23, 2003)

Well said, Karen.


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## Yulia_R (Jan 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PuppyFluffer* 
If a doctor were to insert a medical instrument into an infant girls vaginal opening and rip normal healthy tissue would we call it "medical care" or would we call it assault.

If a woman went in for surgery on her abdoman and awoke with torn and swollen genitals, would we call it "something that needed to be checked while we were in the area" or would we call it assault?

It angers me greatly that this happens to baby boys at the hands of people who are supposed to be professionals and whom we employ in good conscious to help our children.

If this happened to my child, I'd document it all on film - film - not digital photographs. I would never want it alledged that I had PhotoShopped the pictures. One may have difficulty getting genital pictures developed in this day and age of child pornography. I'd contact a small independent photo processor and explain the situation and that you needed the pictures for a potential law suit to prove damages. Maybe even phone and speak to a police officer about this ahead of getting the pictures developed just to clear yourself of any potential reports.

It's unfortunate that the doctors involved have a clue that you are not pleased with the care your child recieved. You have a right to request medical records but I would be skeptical that you'd get complete records now that they are aware of your discontent with their services.

I make it a habit to get medical records on my child for everything. EVERYTHING. I just tell them that I want them for "continuing care" and they give them to me with no questions asked. I suspect that if they thought there was a problem, they could conviently "misplace" some pages.









:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *PuppyFluffer* 
I am so sorry that your child was violated like this. It really is criminal in my opinion.























:


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## painfulquestioning (Jun 11, 2007)

[posting her response]

...reading the responses and other concerns of mothers on the Forum has been comforting to some extent....the links have proven very educational. Now I feel much more confident in my understanding of the function and purpose of the foreskin. I will keep you abreast of our family's situation-copy you on the letter I intend to send to the hospital administration. I am undecided about any further action I may take but won't be at peace with myself if I don't, in some way, hold those responsible accountable. If I can help another family avoid this horrific situation in the future by exposing the hospital/surgeon...then so be it.

Thanks again !!!
A Concerned Mother


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## Yulia_R (Jan 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *painfulquestioning* 
[posting her response]

...reading the responses and other concerns of mothers on the Forum has been comforting to some extent....the links have proven very educational. Now I feel much more confident in my understanding of the function and purpose of the foreskin. I will keep you abreast of our family's situation-copy you on the letter I intend to send to the hospital administration. I am undecided about any further action I may take but won't be at peace with myself if I don't, in some way, hold those responsible accountable. If I can help another family avoid this horrific situation in the future by exposing the hospital/surgeon...then so be it.

Thanks again !!!
A Concerned Mother

Thanks so much for your strength and wiliness to protect other little boys (and their parents) from this horrific damaging experience!























I'm so sorry this happened to your little boy














. Just hug him and kiss him ten million times, so even though his genitals got violated, his spirit will remain whole.
alot of healing vibes your way







...


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## painfulquestioning (Jun 11, 2007)

[posting her letter and email]

As I mentioned, here is a letter I have composed which once sent out, will hopefully open some eyes and set some new guidelines for doctors to actually gain informed consent (as I always thought was the norm?) ... Maybe it will help another child/family avoid this heartbreaking situation!

I have removed my personal information contained within the letter, except my son's first name. If it occurs to you, I certainly don't mind this letter being posted (I tried joining the Forum, but there seems to be a delay in accepting me..?), I would just ask that name of the Dr. & hospital be concealed until this letter is officially sent.

I read quite a bit on the Forum and can't wait to participate as there are so many parents with intact sons facing this ignorance daily and I may be able to help. Boy do I wish I had happened upon this Forum and all of the linked information before picking a pediatrician and a surgeon for my children! I definitely feel empowered now!

Again, I hope at the very least that knowledge of our family's misfortune can help someone else...Would you happen to have a resource list of legitimate organizations that provide support or have an interest in this area (genital integrity/human rights, etc)?

Although it probably won't do much, I also feel that the federal and state officials be alerted of this all too common atrocity and be copied!

LETTER BODY:

July 15, 2007

Dear Sirs/Madams;

Our two year old son is a recent victim of an unauthorized preputioplasty. The medical definition of a preputioplasty is plastic surgery of the prepuce. The prepuce is a medical term for the foreskin of the penis.

I have been trying to protect our son's foreskin since prior to his birth when nurses, pediatricians, even family members and society in general with unsolicited advice to circumcise him bombarded me.

He is two years old. His name is Liam. He is our beautiful son, protective brother, and I am proud to say, fully intact.

Since birth, Liam has had an undescended testicle that occasionally allowed gravity to prevail. It was also recently discovered that along with the undescended testicle, he had a hernia, which were both to be operated on July 11, 2007. I authorized these two necessary medical procedures. One of our strongest concerns, aside from Liam being put under anesthesia and receiving a caudal block, was that his genital integrity not be compromised! Our family drove two hours to Ignorant Hospital in Ignoranceville as we were convinced Liam would receive optimal care there.

We could not have been more wrong.

While Liam was in recovery after these two procedures were performed, I noticed that his penis was extremely swollen. I asked the nurse why and she said it was probably just an accumulation of fluid that gravitated toward the penis due to the surgery.

It wasn't until hours later, during a diaper change in a rest area on the way home from the hospital, that I realized, to my horror and disgust, that the surgeon had forcibly retracted my son's foreskin.

We were not asked permission to allow the surgeon to perform this barbaric procedure and certainly would not have given any authorization to do so. I was not advised by anyone after the surgery that my son's genitals were manipulated and mutilated until the surgeon returned my phone calls once we were back at home. The surgeon's excuse for performing this horrific procedure was that my son had a phony diagnosis of phimosis, adhesions, as well as a build up of smegma. The definition of phimosis did not apply to my son and was definitely a convenient mis-diagnosis. My son had, for his age, a natural semi-retractable foreskin that retracted halfway, that was otherwise loose and allowed normal, non-painful urination. The beneficial smegma (that the surgeon negatively referenced) had been, over the last two years, working its way toward the tip of the penis (prepuce), as it is expected to do so in nature. Liam never had any complaints about his penis.

Natural separation would have definitely occurred in its own time. His penis and it's development were completely normal and should have been left alone!

This procedure, a preputioplasty, was done not for the benefit of my son's well being, but as a benefit to the surgeons and hospital's financial well being.

When he returned my calls, the surgeon instructed me to completely retract my son's foreskin approximately 3-4 times daily and apply Neosporin to the wound. Although at this point a bit wary, but still assuming the doctor knows best, I followed his instruction reluctantly three times (my son kicking and crying every time, screaming in agony when I applied the ointment) before calling the local pediatrician and urologist for alternate advice (which the pediatrician and urologist's physician assistant gave me: being told to leave it alone with very minimal, not full, retraction and/or gentle hygiene (soaking in a bath)). Additional medical advice I have since acquired suggests leaving the foreskin completely alone, avoiding any sort of retraction whatsoever, most specifically, forceful retraction!

It broke my heart that by temporarily following the surgeon's uneducated advice, I caused my son even further pain, adding to and repeating the agony of disturbing now existing micro-tears and exposing a raw wound in a part of the anatomy which is so highly sensitive. I am mortified at the idea of potential physical scarring that my son may suffer as a direct result of this Surgeon's barbaric actions. It is bad enough that a two year old endure any type of surgery and that Liam had the unfortunate experience of needing a hernia corrected.

Dr. Ignorant has added insult to injury; traumatizing my son by forcibly retracting his foreskin. Because of the actions of Dr. Ignorant, forcibly tearing the flesh of the balano-preputial lamina (which connects the foreskin and glans, the synechia) destroying the skin that is considered the first line of defense and by prematurely stretching the phimotic ring (preputial sphincter) jeopardizing potential, natural elasticity, my son has experienced swelling, redness, painful urination, sleepless nights and anxiety. My son has been exposed to potential iatrogenic infection, adhesions and acquired phimosis. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the rest of the world, for at least ten years or more, have been saying to leave the normal development of the prepuce (the foreskin) alone! This is not new information!

My son is two years old and had years before him for his foreskin to naturally separate from the glans in a non-traumatic fashion without any uninvited medical intervention. He has been traumatized. His body has been violated. Our whole entire family has been traumatized, our lives have been disrupted and adversely affected.

Dr. Ignorant and the hospital's nurses not only violated my son, but violated our trust in the medical profession. It hurts Liam to urinate and his disposition overall has been altered. He is anxious and disagreeable (understandably so) about diaper changes and going to anyone with the label Dr. when he used to be quite passive in these contexts.

I am reporting this doctor, Dr. Ignorant, UPMC Ignoranceville to the hospital administration, bioethics committee, patient advocacy group, any board, organization and insurance (I have advised the insurance company that this procedure was not authorized!) that may take interest in my son's situation and his future well being.

Any medical professional who undermines a childs parents by ignoring their ethical responsibility to gain informed consent (and who consequently violates the basic human rights of a child) must be exposed, so as not to abuse the children of our society in the future as marketing tools or platforms for their own financial benefit. Our trust with the medical profession should not be compromised by condoning unnecessary and unauthorized procedures on our loved ones.

Please bring any relevant information or cases you may know of that are similar to our family's situation to my attention. Please include a mailing address for your organization if you have received this letter copied in email as I would like to include you as a copied party of interest on any further correspondence I have with the hospital's administration or regarding the formal complaint to be filed with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Medical Licensing Board.

Thank you in advance for your interest and for any help you may be able to provide.

Sincerely,

(Heartsick parents of Liam)


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## guestmama9908 (Jan 23, 2007)

That is an amazing letter! Way to go Mom of Liam.








to you and your little one for going through such a traumatic event

ETA: I noticed she states a preputioplasty was performed on her son. I read up on the procedure and found that it includes a cut made into the foreskin. http://www.cirp.org/library/treatmen...is/decastella/

Did the surgeon cut her child's foreskin as well! Oh I would be BEYOND livid if that surgeon did that to my child without my consent.


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## Quirky (Jun 18, 2002)

Overall, I think it is an EXCELLENT letter but I recommend that she take out the words like horrific, horrible, mutilation, etc. I think the letter is powerful enough without those words -- and I think that her letter will not get taken as seriously with them in.

And I agree, preputioplasty is not the correct word -- she should just say forcible, unauthorized foreskin retraction. With perhaps a citation to the AAP statement that this is unnecessary.


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## pdx.mothernurture (May 27, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Quirky* 
Overall, I think it is an EXCELLENT letter but I recommend that she take out the words like horrific, horrible, mutilation, etc. I think the letter is powerful enough without those words -- and I think that her letter will not get taken as seriously with them in.

I agree, she has a very valid complaint; those words are accurate but unnecessary and could weaken the letter's strength.

Otherwise, great job and kudos to her for taking such initiative.









Jen


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

Great letter. I like the suggestions the others made to take out a few words while accurate they could be seen in a different light by the people reading the letter.


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## Benji'sMom (Sep 14, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CalenandEllasmomma* 
That is an amazing letter! Way to go Mom of Liam.








to you and your little one for going through such a traumatic event

ETA: I noticed she states a preputioplasty was performed on her son. I read up on the procedure and found that it includes a cut made into the foreskin. http://www.cirp.org/library/treatmen...is/decastella/

Did the surgeon cut her child's foreskin as well! Oh I would be BEYOND livid if that surgeon did that to my child without my consent.

Yeah I was thinking that too, that when I hear the word "plasty" I think, cutting it off or removal, not just forced retraction.


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## Yulia_R (Jan 7, 2006)

Great letter!


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## Nitenites (Jan 23, 2003)

Please keep us posted (No pun intended!) and let us know if you get a response from the "hospital."


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## cottonwood (Nov 20, 2001)

Great letter. I am so incredibly disgusted and sorry for what your son and you have been through. So, so sorry.

What about taking legal action? If my genitals had been unnecessarily damaged and traumatized you bet I'd be suing the pants off the person that did it.


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## Yulia_R (Jan 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *fourlittlebirds* 
What about taking legal action? If my genitals had been unnecessarily damaged and traumatized you bet I'd be suing the pants off the person that did it.









:


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## Microsoap (Dec 29, 2005)

SUPERB letter! I recommend you send it registered, so they have to sign for it and you can KNOW they _had_ to sign for it. Keep a copy of certification of it. Might come in handy some day should another male (perhaps your son, future-sons) get retracted and they cop a plea of ignorance that you forbid them from retracting. Best of luck to you!


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## titania8 (Feb 15, 2007)

that was fantastic letter to the hospital. i would love to hear what the response is to it.


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## veganf (Dec 12, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *painfulquestioning* 
Our two year old son is a recent victim of an unauthorized preputioplasty. The medical definition of a preputioplasty is plastic surgery of the prepuce. The prepuce is a medical term for the foreskin of the penis.

Overall a very detailed and informative letter. I would personally change a few things: "unauthorized preputioplasty" to "unauthorized foreskin retraction", and "plastic surgery" to "cosmetic surgery" or "cosmetic alteration" because the doctor did not CUT his foreskin, he retracted it, correct?


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## Naturalyst (Feb 3, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *veganf* 
Overall a very detailed and informative letter. I would personally change a few things: "unauthorized preputioplasty" to "unauthorized foreskin retraction", and "plastic surgery" to "cosmetic surgery" or "cosmetic alteration" because the doctor did not CUT his foreskin, he retracted it, correct?









:

Also, I make the following suggestions:


> Name the individuals with whom the mother raised her pre-surgery concerns that her son's genitals not be altered during the procedure. Was this discussion with the surgeon, the intake admission's officer ... with whom did she talk?
> 
> For clarity, reorder the wording of the second paragraph to "... and society, in general, bombarded me with unsolicited advice to circumcise him."
> 
> ...


This mother and son's experience has been tugging my heart and mind. Please let us know how the boy is doing. Is he feeling any better?


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## foreskin friendly (Jul 16, 2007)

Hello.. I will try this again... I'm just figuring out my way around here..
Thanks especially to painfulquestioning for being my medium during the waiting period before I could post my own messages.
Again, I want to extend my greatest THANKS to all of you that have helped me through this... I have taken in your suggestions and advice regarding this situation and edited my letter-here it is if you have 15 minutes or so to burn... I noted in the cc: list at the end of the letter that I was copying it here, since it is sent, I have not edited out names, etc...besides I'm only stating the facts, so...
I'd hate to post such a long letter... but will-in the event that another mother can use it as a template for her own fight for justice on behalf of her son(s):
Here is the cover letter...

*Children's Rights Activists and Organizations/
Medical Professionals/ News Media/State Legislators/
Presidential Candidates

Dear Fellow Humans,

It is disheartening to come to the realization that we are a society conformed to living with conditions of normative abuse.

Routine Infant Circumcision, and recently, I'm sad to say (I've come to understand personally), Forcible Foreskin Retraction have become common cultural and social crimes that must be reintroduced to the American people as violations of children's basic human rights.

Please take the time to read the enclosed letter written to the administration of the hospital where our two-year old son has recently been victimized.

Enforcing public awareness regarding these two very controversial issues must be our
immediate concern if we are to honestly and whole-heartedly protect our children from the ignorance that has engulfed the American medical profession for over the last 150 years. There is no national or international medical association that recommends circumcision.

We are just beginning to emerge from the plethora of myths and propaganda that have clouded our vision, judgment and protective intuition in the past. Someday, we will join with the now eighty-plus percent of the world's population that doesn't support, and in most instances frowns upon, circumcision. Our superior nation certainly should not be in the fifteen to twenty percent minority that doesn't believe in leaving our children's beautiful bodies intact and as whole as the day they were born.

Feel free to contact us if you might be able to be of some assistance or if we could help explain this issue further.

Thank you in advance for your time, support and efforts to help mold this world into a less cruel place for our future generations.

******* and the original enclosed letter ****** :

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Roger A. Oxendale - President/CEO and
Board of Trustees
3705 Fifth Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Dear Sirs/Madams;

Our two-year-old son is a recent victim of an unauthorized premature surgical and forcible foreskin retraction.

"Almost all males are born with a fold of specialized skin - a foreskin (also known as the prepuce) - that covers their glans (head of the penis)&#8230;In infancy and usually during childhood, the inner surface of a male's foreskin and the surface of his glans are one continuous structure. The cells that connect these two surfaces dissolve naturally over time - a process that should never be hurried...Forced retraction of the foreskin causes pain and trauma because it rips the child's foreskin from his glans and/or tears his foreskin's opening."

-National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Center

We have been trying to protect our son's foreskin since prior to his birth when nurses, pediatricians, even family members and society in general with unsolicited advice to circumcise him bombarded us.

He is two years old. His name is Liam. He is our beautiful son, protective brother, and we are proud to say, fully intact.

Since birth, Liam has had an undescended testicle that occasionally allowed gravity to prevail. He needed to have an orchioplasty; a surgical reconstruction of the testes. It was also recently discovered that along with the undescended testicle, he had an inguinal hernia, which were both to be operated on July 11, 2007 in the Wexford-Bayne Children's Hospital location. We authorized ONLY these two necessary medical procedures.

Prior to the surgery, during our consultation with Dr. Lynch in his Monroeville, PA office on June 19, 2007, we specifically explained our two utmost concerns. One of our strongest concerns, aside from Liam being put under anesthesia and receiving a caudal epidural block, was that his genital integrity not be compromised. We explained to Dr. Lynch that we made the educated decision to refuse to circumcise our son when he was born. We are self-educated in the potential and actual risks, involving physical, emotional and mental damage that circumcision poses on otherwise healthy babies. No national or international medical association recommends circumcision. One of the last things Dr. Lynch said to us during the consultation was that it was a non-issue that Liam was intact. He said absolutely nothing about adhesions, phimosis or retractibility of Liam's foreskin, all of which Dr. Lynch later claimed to be the basis of his decision to perform this cruel procedure.

On July 11, 2007, our family drove two hours to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh as we were convinced Liam would receive optimal care there.

We could not have been more wrong.

*

*2*

*While Liam was in recovery, we noticed that his penis was extremely swollen. I, being the protective mother, naturally asked the nurse "why?" and she said it was probably just an accumulation of fluid that gravitated
toward the penis as a result of the surgery. We also noticed and pointed out to her a mark on my son's foreskin which looked like an impression left from a clamp. She said the Dr. probably just weighted down my son's penis by clamping the foreskin forward and pulling it toward the opposite side of the groin which was to be operated on so that the penis wouldn't "get in the way" of the surgery. We were leery of this explanation but it made sense that the surgeon, as we had discussed, would temporarily reposition our son's penis away from potential harm during the operation to avoid jeopardizing my son's genital integrity.

It wasn't until hours later, during a diaper change in a rest area on the way home from the hospital, that we realized, to our horror and disgust, that the surgeon had forcibly retracted our son's foreskin. Our son's foreskin, just as most babies and toddler's prepuces and glans are adherent in nature, was only about halfway retractable and otherwise fused, prior to surgery. During his diaper change (post-surgery), we realized what had happened to our son, as his foreskin retracted completely, revealing blood, and a red, raw, open wound. Fortunately, the effects of the anesthesia still had not worn off during this incident.

We were not asked permission to allow the surgeon to perform this barbaric procedure and certainly would not have given any authorization to do so. We were not advised by anyone after the surgery (until the surgeon returned our urgent phone calls once we were back at home) that our son's prepuce was forcibly and surgically stripped away from his glans penis (just as a fingernail would be torn from the nail bed), prematurely exposing what should be an internal organ. The surgeon's excuse for performing this horrific procedure was that our son had a (phony and commonly over/mis-diagnosed in prepubescent boys) condition called phimosis, adhesions, as well as a build up of smegma. The definition of phimosis did not apply to our son and certainly shouldn't apply to anyone as young as our son. Liam's old pediatricians, whom we trusted whole-heartedly with guidance on how to care for our son's intact penis and whom had just seen Liam prior to our move to Pennsylvania in February 2007, never raised any concern over phimosis, smegma buildup or adhesions. Quite the opposite, this well-educated, trustworthy group of pediatricians can attest to the natural and regular development of our son's foreskin. As I previously stated, for his age, Liam naturally had a semi-retractable foreskin. When it was necessary to clean after he had defecated in a diaper, his foreskin could be gently pushed back (without any force, retracted toward the abdomen) about halfway over the glans. The phimotic ring (or preputial sphincter) was otherwise loose and allowed non-painful urination (which is one of the key symptoms of phimosis). The smegma the surgeon referenced had been, over the last two years, working its way toward the tip of the penis (prepuce), as it is expected to do so in nature. Liam never had any complaints about his penis. Natural separation would have definitely occurred in its own time. His penis and his foreskin development were completely normal. The procedure performed by Dr. Lynch was ignorant and certainly not done for the benefit of our son's well being, but as either a benefit to the surgeon's and hospitals financial well-being or as a "learning tool"!

When he returned our calls, the surgeon instructed us to continue to completely retract our son's foreskin approximately 3-4 times daily during diaper changes and to apply Neosporin to the wound. Although at this point a bit wary, but still assuming the doctor knows best, we did this reluctantly three times, our son kicking and crying every time, screaming in agony when the ointment was applied. We called our old pediatrician, the new local pediatrician and urologist for alternate advice (which the pediatrician and urologist's physician assistant gave us: being told to leave it alone with very minimal, not full retraction and gentle hygiene (soaking in a bath)!). It broke our hearts that we caused our son even further pain by following the surgeon's after-care instructions for as long as we did that day. As if it wasn't bad enough that a two year old endure any type of surgery and that Liam had the unfortunate experience of needing his testes reconstructed and a hernia corrected, our son had to also suffer the agony of diaper changes and urine coming into contact with micro-tears and a raw open wound.

*

*3*

*Dr. Lynch has added insult to injury; traumatizing our son by forcibly retracting his foreskin. Because of the actions of Dr. Lynch, forcibly tearing the flesh of the balano-preputial lamina (which connects the foreskin and glans-the synechia membrane) and destroying the skin that is considered the first line of defense, our son has experienced swelling, redness, painful urination, sleepless nights and anxiety. Our son has been exposed to
potential iatrogenic infection, adhesions and acquired phimosis. During his most recent bath, Liam retracted his own foreskin no longer halfway, but about three-quarters of the way, revealing adhesions that have already re-attached the glans to the prepuce, preventing any further retraction. We can only hope this condition will
resolve itself over time, allowing him natural, non-painful, full retractability by or near puberty as it should have naturally happened. Although, we are disheartened to say, we have been advised by medical professionals and doctors that our son will probably need to have the foreskin surgically separated from the scar-connected glans in the future (as the synechia has already been damaged).

For ten years or more, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the rest of the world, including most of the medical organizations this letter is copied to, have been saying to leave the normal development of the prepuce (the foreskin) alone. This is not new information! I can't imagine that the surgeon has not heard of the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation.

Our son is two years old and had many years before him for his foreskin to naturally separate from the glans in a non-traumatic fashion without any uninvited medical intervention.

Liam has been traumatized. His body has been violated. He will likely suffer further physical, mental and emotional pain throughout life and consequently, require additional surgeries to correct his penis, all which would have been avoided had Dr. Lynch only performed the two authorized procedures.
I shudder to fathom the idea: had the patient been a two year old girl, would the equivalent procedure been attempted, or even considered? I'm sure it would cause a public outrage to hear of a two year old female patient going in for hernia surgery and coming out with tears in the genital flesh connecting her clitoral "hood" and the clitoris, or in the hymen, as the result of "necessary pre-operative cleaning of the area"!

Our whole entire family has been traumatized; our lives have been disrupted and adversely affected. We have lost countless nights of sleep and a deluge of tears.
Dr. Lynch not only violated our son, but also violated our trust.

It hurt Liam to urinate and his disposition overall has been altered. He is anxious and disagreeable (understandably so) about diaper changes and going to anyone with the label "Dr." when he used to be quite passive in these contexts. As we explained before, Liam is already showing signs of complications (adhesions-two skin surfaces fusing together) caused by Dr. Lynch's unauthorized, unnecessary, premature, forcible and surgical retraction of Liam's foreskin.

We are reporting the harmful actions of Dr. James Lynch to the hospital administration, bio-ethics committee, patient advocacy group, any hospital where Dr. Lynch has privileges, any board, organization, medical practice and insurance (we have advised the insurance company that this procedure was not authorized) that may take interest in our son's situation and his future well-being (as well as the future well-being and competent care of all intact boys).

Any medical professional who undermines a child's parents by ignoring their ethical responsibility to gain informed consent (and who consequently violates the basic human rights of a child) must be exposed, so as not to abuse the children of our society in the future as marketing tools or platforms for their own financial benefit. Our trust with the medical profession should not be compromised by condoning unnecessary and unauthorized procedures on our loved ones.

*

*4*

*
Has the medical profession lost sight of the first tenet of medical practice, Primum non nocere (First, do no harm)?

Sincerely,

Colleen and Joe (Heartsick parents of Liam)

cc: Dr. James Lynch, Surgeon, Dept. of Critical Care, General, and Pediatric Surgery
Dr. Laima Pauliukonis, Anesthesiologist
Dr. George K. Gittes, Chief of Service
Dr. Timothy D. Kane, Clinical Director
Dr. Russ Kolarik, Medicine/Pediatrics Program Director
Elizabeth Lewis, Patient Advocacy Manager
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 3705 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2583
Children's-South, 1300 Oxford Drive, Bethel Park, PA 15102
Children's-North, 2599 Wexford Bayne Road, Sewickley, PA 15143
Children's-East, 4055 Monroeville Boulevard, Monroeville, PA 15146
Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3180
UPMC Presbyterian, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2582
Tammy Radel, Administrator, Professional Compliance Office
Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine P.O. Box 2649 Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649
Gina K. Bittner, Administrator
Pennsylvania State Board of Osteopathic Medicine 124 Pine St. Harrisburg, PA 17101
Joint Commission, Division of Accreditation Operations,
Office of Quality Monitoring, One Renaissance Boulevard, Oakbrook Terrance, IL 60181
Allegheny County Dept. of Health, 3333 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Beaver County Dept. of Health, 300 South Walnut Lane, Beaver, PA 15009
Cambria County Dept. of Health, 184 Donald Lane, Suite 1, Johnstown, PA 15904
Dr. David Kerstetter, 118 Anderson Street, Bedford, PA 15522
Dr. William A. Rose, Dr. Emily R. Brown, Yvonne Santiago, RN, Dr. Irvin P. De Stefano,
Dr. Hartley S. Bancroft II
Orange Pediatric Associates, 400 Midway Park Dr., Middletown, NY 10940
Kim Laush, Call Center Supervisor and Mary Bailey, Quality Assurance Manager,
ACCESS Plus Automated Health System, 9370 McKnight Road, Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Mike Leavitt, Secretary, Health & Human Services, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Washington D.C. 20201
American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL, 60007
David J. Llewellyn Attorney at Law, Director
Atlanta Circumcision Information Center, 2 Putnam Drive, N.W. Atlanta, GA 30342
John V. Geisheker, JD, LL.M. Attorney-at-Law Executive Director and General Counsel and
Mark D. Reiss, M.D. Executive Vice-President
Doctors Opposing Circumcision Suite 42 2442 NW Market Street, Seattle, Washington 98107-4137
Marilyn Milos, RN / NOCIRC P.O. Box 2512, San Anselmo, CA 94979-2512
J. Steven Svoboda, Esq., Attorneys for the Rights of the Child, 2961 Ashby Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705
Betty Katz Sperlich, R.N., and Mary Conant, R.N.
Nurses for the Rights of the Child, 369 Montezuma #354, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
American Iatrogenic Association 2513 S. Gessner, #232 Houston, Texas 77063
Mothering Magazine, Motheringdotcommune Forums (www.mothering.com/discussions)
Tim Hammond, Director, National Organization to Halt the Abuse and Routine Mutilation of Males
(NOHARMM) P.O. Box 460795, San Francisco, CA 94146
Dr. Eileen Marie Wayne, (www.informedconsent.org) 1302 7th Street, Moline, IL 61265
Ronald Goldman, Ph.D., Circumcision Resource Center, PO Box 232, Boston, MA 02133
*

*5*

*
Medem, Inc., 100 Pine Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111
American Medical Association, 515 N. State Street, Chicago, IL 60610
Human Rights Watch, 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor, New York, NY 10118-3299
Office of the United Nations Petitions Team, High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNOG-OHCHR
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Amnesty International USA, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20003
UNICEF House, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, New York 10017
R. Wayne Griffiths, National Organization of Restoring Men
NORM, 3205 Northwood Dr., Suite 209, Concord, CA 94520-4506
INTACT TIMES, Lisa Stephon, Ed., NOCIRC of Pennsylvania, PO Box 103, Mountville, PA 17554
Intersex Society of North America, 979 Golf Course Drive #282, Rohnert Park, CA 94928
NORM NEWS, David Smith, editor, PO Box 71 Stafford, Stone, ST15 0QA, England
State Senator John H. Eichelberger, 309 Allegheny Street, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
State Representative Hon. Dick Hess, 133 S. Richard St., Bedford, PA 15522
State Senator Jim Ferlo, 3519 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
State Senator Wayne D. Fontana, 930 Brookline Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15226-2106
State Senator Jay Costa, 1501 Ardmore Blvd., Suite 403, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-4401
Hon. Jake Wheatley, 2015-2017 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Hon. Don Walko, 3880 Perrysville Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15214
Hon. Chelsa Wagner, Castle Vlg. Shoppes, 5301 Grove Road-Suite M112, Pittsburgh, PA 15236
Hon. Joseph *******, Jr., 6203 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Hon. Thomas C. Petrone, 179 Steuben Street, PO Box 8557, Pittsburgh, PA 15220
State Senator John Pippy, 937 Beaver Grade Road, Moon Township, PA 15108
Hon. T. Mark Mustio, 519 Broad Street, Sewickley, PA 15143
State Sen. Sean Logan, Ivanhoe Prof. Bldg, Suite 107, 117 Fox Plan Road, Monroeville, PA15146
Hon. Joseph F. Markosek, Commerce Building, 4232 Northern Pike, Monroeville, PA 15146
Hon. Matthew Smith, 319 Castle Shannon Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15234
Hon. John Maher, 2547 Washington Rd, 711 Summerfield Commons, Upper St Clair, PA 15241
State Sen. John N. Wozniak, 2307 Bedford Street, Johnstown, PA 15904
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Senate, 476 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Barack Obama, US Senator for Illinois, 713 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Congressman Ron Paul, 850 N. Randolph Street, Suite 122, Arlington, VA 22203
John Edwards for President, 410 Market Street, Suite 400, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
CNN, One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
MSNBC, One MSNBC Plaza, Secaucus, NJ 07094
ABC News, 77 W. 66 St., New York, NY 10023
CBS News, 524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Fox News Channel, 1211 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10036
NBC, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
PBS, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314
National Public Radio, 635 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001-3753
The New York Times, 229 W. 43rd St., New York, NY 10036
USA Today, 7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22108
The Wall Street Journal, 200 Liberty St., New York, NY 10281
The Washington Post, 1150 15th St., NW, Washington, DC 20071
Newsweek, 251 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019
Time, Time & Life Bldg., Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020
U.S. News & World Report, 1050 Thomas Jefferson St., Washington, DC 20007
FAIR, 112 W. 27th St., New York, NY 10001
The Bedford Gazette,424 West Penn Street, Bedford, PA 15522
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Sandra Skowron, 503 Martindale St., Suite 300, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
NPR (National Public Radio), 635 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001-3753*


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## foreskin friendly (Jul 16, 2007)

Hello... Not confident that this is the most recent post, but seems to contain all of the pertinent information about my son's/our situation.
Sorry, I have been away for a bit...
Upon my arrival home, checking my mail, I found a letter from Children's Hospital.
Responding to my complaint, the manager of "quality assurance" wrote that they were advised by Dr. Ignorant of my "concerns" as he received a phone call from me the day of Liam's surgery. Dr. Ignorant has apparently been "retracting" as a pre-op necessity his "...entire career without negative results...". The head of his dept., "...without having the benefit of examining my son..." (as if that would happen), does not foresee "...any potential problems as a result of Dr. Ignorant's actions...".
Although, they say they will address the issue of including this procedure (premature, forcible, surgical retraction) as part of the informed consent process for future patients/parents. WHAT??????

Can you imagine how I am ready to take a two hour drive to this hospital to ASSURE them this is not consistent with QUALITY!
Did they even read the AAP guidelines I copied and enclosed?
The NOCIRC "how to care for the intact penis/foreskin" guide?
I AM OUTRAGED EVEN MORE NOW THAN BEFORE, IF THAT IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE!
John Geisheker, Doctor's Opposing Circumcision, general counsel, has drafted a phenomenal 8 page letter on our behalf, complete with numerous medical references, addressed to the hospital administration.
It is a no brainer that we will be moving forward with a lawsuit. We've consulted a local attorney. This is not my usual disposition, but
THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF RESPONSE I EXPECTED... they obviously are not aware of an Irish scorpio, NewYorker's, temperament!!!

How many other boys have fallen victim to this







???


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## Datura (Mar 18, 2005)

Go get 'em, mama! Keep us updated.


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## foreskin friendly (Jul 16, 2007)

Another update...

Alternative Medicine magazine will probably be publishing my letter about Liam and forcible surgical foreskin retraction in the "letters to the editor" sect.... will keep you all up to date...

thanks for all of the support everyone!


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## fruitful womb (Nov 20, 2004)

Wow this is great! Can't wait to see them published.

I'm %100 behind you while you pursue litigation! That ought a wake them up!!!

~FW


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## quarteralien (Oct 4, 2006)

: This is great!


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## christifav (Nov 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *foreskin friendly* 
Another update...

Alternative Medicine magazine will probably be publishing my letter about Liam and forcible surgical foreskin retraction in the "letters to the editor" sect.... will keep you all up to date...

thanks for all of the support everyone!

There is another thread on here about Alternative Medicine mag recommending circ based on the HIV/Africa studies. So which is it...are they for or against RIC?


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## Cheshire (Dec 14, 2004)

Hugs to you and your family. The hospital sent you a neutral reply and pretty much said - "oh, we forgot to get informed consent first but we are going to make sure we add it to our consent forms and scare parents into thinking retraction is necessary so we don't put our butts in a sling again."

They are expecting you to sue and would never admit in writing that they messed up.

Keep after them. For some reason logic (and new medical advice) won't change most doctors' behavior, just a good, old fashioned lawsuit will.

I'll keep you guys in my prayers.


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## veganf (Dec 12, 2005)

Wow. How DARE they brush off your "concerns" so nonchalantly!!!!!!







I cannot wait to hear about the lawsuit. I hope that doc's insurance pays bigtime, and I hope he pays personally in some way.


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## foreskin friendly (Jul 16, 2007)

Thanks again for your support everyone...

off to edit some previous posts for







and









(I unintentionally support Puppyfluffer's MDC moderator job security







)


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## foreskin friendly (Jul 16, 2007)

ok...
yet another update for all of you...

First, I want to publicly applaud and commend COMPLEAT MOTHER (excellent magazine of pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and natural living) for reaching out to my family. I have permission from them to post information regarding their publication and want to encourage anyone who has not ever had the privilege or opportunity to read...to now do so. It is a VERY rich and warm publication.

You can obtain back issues or subscribe by contacting (me...or) Jody McLaughlin @ [[email protected]] or calling her @ 701-852-2822.

Mother/Jody has been a pillar of support to myself and my family during this difficult time and Compleat Mother will be publishing an article on Forced Foreskin Retraction (also covered in the Fall '05 issue) citing the letter I wrote posted near the beginning of this OT.

Secondly, I am happy to announce that I spoke with the investigator from the State Medical Licensing Board. He said that he has not received such a thorough complaint as I submitted in a very long time.(I can really







!)
He was a very nice gentleman who seemed to be compassionate. (I was hoping someone like him would be assigned to investigate). I got a good feeling about him from the short time we were on the phone.
Of course, I had to correct him after he said two times that he thought Liam was circumcised!























But his disposition didn't change when I explained FFR...he was still pretty surprised...

He is sending a release for me to sign off on Liam's medical records to be copied and forwarded. (I told him I already obtained a complete record. He then asked, "Are you sure it is a complete record?"...I said, "OK, I see where you are going with this...send the form and I will sign"







)

I also told him I would copy him on the response letter from the hospital, the letter from John Geisheker (DOC) and any other pertinent info...
(I asked if he had any medical background...he does not







...so I asked if he would like any more information on development, purpose, function of the foreskin to further his understanding...he said sure)...

I don't want to overwhelm the guy, but certainly DO want to make sure he has a clear understanding of why this practice continues to be ignorantly employed...and...how damaging, unnecessary and risky it really is!

Any suggestions?


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## Datura (Mar 18, 2005)

I think you're handling it really well. Let it cook for a bit and see what happens.


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## Benji'sMom (Sep 14, 2004)

Good upadate

sorry baby hitting keyboard


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## TigerTail (Dec 22, 2002)

oh, _brava,_ mama. well done. smack 'em in the wallet, it's the only thing that will change the prevailing ignorance.


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## ColoradoMama (Nov 22, 2001)

You rock Colleen. As the mother of two intact boys, I want to say thank you for doing this. I mean, I know you are doing it for your son, but by doing so, you are doing it for all our sons.


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## foreskin friendly (Jul 16, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ColoradoMama* 
You rock Colleen. As the mother of two intact boys, I want to say thank you for doing this. I mean, I know you are doing it for your son, but by doing so, you are doing it for all our sons.

Thanks so much. The encouragement and motivation I have is basically from here... from all of you! You keep my tank full of fuel!
Although I have to say...just as you are absolutely correct in that I will fight tooth and nail for my son, I AM thinking of all of those other sons while I fight this fight and they ARE ALSO the reason why I am doing this!!!!
I would do (and have done) the same for ANYONE who was/is wronged!!!
(I am not one of those passive types!)


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