# Circumsized and regret it...



## mom06 (Apr 28, 2006)

I circumsized my son and it didn't take all the way. It is semi circumisized and I can't leave it like this. The doc said that it will cause pain to have an erection when he is older, so he has to get recircumsized. I am so upset. I wish I didn't circumsize him at all...I was just uniformed...kind of thought is just what you do...i feel so ashamed. I should have researched it better but I didn't. I feel like such a bad mom.


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## MamaRabbit (May 26, 2005)

My DS was circed. I didn't want it but DH insisted. I go through days (this is 8mo later) where I feel like a bad mom too. And days where I'm angry about it. Almost like a grief cycle. As a result, I've been very anti-circ and mentioned it to all pregnant moms. Doing something to inform helps me somehow.


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## Lula's Mom (Oct 29, 2003)

No, darling, no! I am so sorry, I have to go and don't have time to properly respond, but either I will come back, or someone else will help you in the meantime.

Your son's circumcision caused a wound on his penis. The body will always try to heal a wound. The remnant foreskin has reattached itself to the glans (I assume this is what you mean has happened). In time, the adhesions should break down naturally, as they would have if he was left intact. You do not need to have him recircumcised- it is better that he has at least a "looser" circumcision. Perhaps he will not experienced some of the difficulties that men with very tight circumcisions have. Unless the scar line itself has reattached to the glans, you should leave it alone. Don't pull back the adhesions, and don't liten to that doctor who wants to cut your boy again.







: I am so sorry for your heartache; perhaps you should post on the Regret sticky thread, if you have not already.


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## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

What do you mean he was semi circumsized? You mean your Dr doesn't think they took enough off? If that is the case then be grateful your ds still has some foreskin left and DO NOT get him circed again.


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## mom06 (Apr 28, 2006)

IT is kind of hard to explain...it kind of reattached it self...so I just say he is semi circumsized. I talked to two different doctors, one of which is against circumsison and she said that it would probably cause pain when he had an erection when he was older. I am so confused. guess I will have to do research. That is all i am doing between my self and him. I am so confused.


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## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

Honestly sounds like you have care providers that aren't well educated on the issue. ITA with Lula's mom post.


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## Girl Named Sandoz (Jul 16, 2002)

I would not cut him again now.

It sounds as though the wound is healing. Normally, at his age, the skin SHOULD be attached to the glans. This is a protective mechanism all newborn boys have.

I would let it heal and wait and see. When he gets older, you can assert if there really is a problem when he has an erection. It's very hard to tell while he is young, and re-operating could cause more problems.

Doctors in the US are very uninformed on an intact penis, and on the functions of the foreskin.

Best wishes to you and your son.


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## Lula's Mom (Oct 29, 2003)

Argh, I couldn't leave you distressed, so quickly, here are a few references to this situation.
Most adhesions will resolve on their own: http://www.cirp.org/news/ponsky2/

A picture of adhesions: http://www.circumcisionquotes.com/images/slide1.jpg
If they don't resolve on their on, they become skin bridges (awful pictures!!)







: http://www.circumstitions.com/Restric/Botched1sb.html

A lot of doctors these days do looser circs, because taking all of the foreskin results in many problems, too. But then the parents are not satisfied with the appearance and have it redone. But look here. This shows that as the child gets older, he grows into whatever skin he has left. If this child had been recircumcised, he would likely have tight, uncomfortable erections as an adult:
http://www.rogerknapp.com/medical/circ_incomplete.htm
I disagree with Dr. Knapp's assessment that it will look "fine" later, but whatever.


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## Lula's Mom (Oct 29, 2003)

You will find more articles that say something must be done, like breaking them and putting vaseline on at every diaper change: http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/adhesions.htm

But that is not the prevailing wisdom these days. I would go with "leave it alone" until he is at least 9 or 10. If there are still adhesions then you may need to look into lysing them. But as the first article in my other post said, it is not likely that he will still have them later. I think leaving it alone, rather than interfering with nature's processes more than has already been done, is the way to go.


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## Daisyuk (May 15, 2005)

Ponsky LE, Ross JH, Knipper N, Kay R.

Department of Urology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

"In these groups we noted an adhesion rate of 71%, 28%, 8% and 2%, respectively. The rate of adhesions more severe than grade 1 was 30%, 10% and 0% in boys 12 months old or younger, 13 to 60 and 61 months old or older, respectively. The oldest patient with grade 3 adhesions was 31 months old. Skin bridges in 6 cases involved the circumcision line in 4."

"CONCLUSIONS: Penile adhesions develop after circumcision and the incidence decreases with patient age. Although there is debate on whether to lyse these adhesions manually, our findings suggest that adhesions resolve without treatment. Based on our results we do not recommend lysing penile adhesions, except perhaps those involving the circumcision line."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

"Penile adhesions occur frequently after circumcision. Some physicians advocate manual lysis of the adhesions. This procedure can be painful and traumatic. Penile adhesions are normal in uncircumcised boys and normally resolve without treatment."

http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/...il.cfm?id=3420

Gil Fuld, M.D., F.A.A.P.

"Sometimes after a routine newborn circumcision, excess foreskin remains. Since newborn circumcision is not medically necessary, it's certainly better to leave a little extra than to take off too much and damage the child's penis."

"So, it's a common occurrence in little boys for adhesions to develop under any remaining foreskin, although it's rarely a problem and practically never requires a repeat circumcision."

http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_d...NC&sub_cat=474

Vincent Iannelli, M.D.

"It isn't really normal, but is a common complication after a circumcision. In a situation like this, penile adhesions form when the skin on the shaft of the penis attaches itself to the glans or head of the penis. In extreme cases, it can look like the child was never even circumcised, leading parents to believe that the child had a 'bad circumcision.'"

"If the skin is attached only on the very base of the glans, then your child has a very mild case of penile adhesions and you can likely just leave it alone. It should eventually separate, especially once your child becomes older, and anyway, forcing it apart would be painful."

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weekl...l_adhesion.htm

"The foreskin will almost always detach itself in time as a boy develops. It should not be forcibly retracted. This may lead to scarred adhesions that will not detach without surgery. Penile growth is not usually influenced by adhesion of the foreskin to the glans penis."

http://www.henryfordhealth.org/19160.cfm


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## mom06 (Apr 28, 2006)

I would just like to know how DR. don't know anything. I swear they don't. Thank you all so much. I will defiantly be leaving it alone. YOu all are awesome.


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## Bm31 (Jun 5, 2005)

I "had" to be re-circ'd at age 6. Please, do NOT allow them another shot at your son's genitals. You will only be opening him up for further, worse complications, most likely a buried/trapped penis.

You are not a bad mother! Those in the medical community are suppose to be the professionals. They should be educating parents and should not even be offering circ as an option on infants. Instead they are blinded by $$ signs and trying to please parents misinformed by cultural mythology.


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## DaddyJoe (Dec 30, 2005)

Mom, please don't feel bad about this situation. Feel happy that your son wasn't skinned completely. Loose circumcisions allow an adult man to feel a much better range of sensation and much more satisfying pleasure during sex. If he wishes to restore later in life, it will be sooooo much easier to do it with all the "extra" skin the doctor accidentally left him with. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. You've learned the truth, and if the worst does happen and a skin bridge develops, it will be easier down the road to have the bridge clipped lose than what the doctor is proposing, which is to remove every little bit of erogenous tissue your boy has to conform to this doc's idea of what a normal penis is supposed to look like. I restored my foreskin from a very tight cut and I can say from experience that even a loose cut is 100% better than to be tightly cut. Loose cuts are almost as good as being intact, from my experience.


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## Fi. (May 3, 2005)

Quote:

The doc said that it will cause pain to have an erection when he is older, so he has to get recircumsized.
Write to Doctors Opposing Circumcision and ask them what to do.
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org/

Explain it to them the way you explained it to us in this thread - they should be pretty helpful.


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## Quirky (Jun 18, 2002)

Just jumping in to add a big DITTO to the above. Let it alone, the adhesions will release over time - do NOT try to retract, and do NOT let any more doctors get near your son's penis with a knife!

There are lots and lots of mamas (and some papas too) on this board who circed because they simply didn't know any better - and the medical professionals who were supposed to ensure informed consent simply didn't. There's a quotation by Maya Angelou we cite a lot around here - "I did then what I knew how to do. When you know better, you do better."

The founder of NOCIRC (www.nocirc.org) circed all 3 of her sons back in the 1970s. It wasn't until she went back to school to become a nurse that she learned what circ really is, and she made it her life's mission to save baby boys from the trauma that her sons had undergone. You can help, too - just make sure to let people know what you wish you had known! You can't undo your son's circ, but you can be a powerful voice against circumcision.








to you.


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