Phimosis / Tight Foreskin / Circumcision

[Funz]

DS is turning 6 and he is still unable to fully retract his foreskin. I was not that concerned but did consult the PD about it. She said that it is not uncommon for boys his age to still not be able to retract the foreskin fully. What is more important is that it does not pose and problems for them. She gave DS a cream to apply to ‘thin’ the foreskin to help retract and initially it seem to work. He was able to retract the foreskin a little and I thought ok problem solved. But lately, I noticed that the foreskin is again back like before and he is not able to retrack at all. To make matters worse, he seem to be getting frequent infection. Not urinary tract but his penis will get swollen and after sometime, there will be pus. The doctor said it is superficial, as in the infection is on the skin due to trapped dirt so not too bad. Will be worse if it’s UTI as that can affect the bladder and even kidneys.


Now I am wondering if it will be a good idea to get him circumcised or to wait it out, give it more time.

Any advise?

[ZacK]

DS1 is gonna be 8 this year and he still has the same problem of not being able to retract his foreskin. I am remaining status quo for DS1 as thus far, he has not experienced any infections. I am hoping that we can keep to this until he can retract his foreskin naturally hopefully by puberty.


Funz I do not think there is a right/wrong answer here... Guess some parents will just wanna treat the problem at the root by going for circumcision... Only thing to note is once done is not reversible.

For me I would rather DS1 decide for himself later in life whether he wishes to be circumcised or not.. Ultimately the body belongs to him. So for me, unless medically necessary to go for the op, I will adopt the wait and see stance.

:celebrate:

[Funz]

thanks Zack.


Just trying to weigh the pros and cons. Went back the entire thread and read everything.

Was just thinking that if wanna go for the op, will be better to go this year b4 he goes to primary school.

But the other part of me also thinking to let nature run its course.

DH is not helping cos he standard answer is whatever you think is best.

DS is at the age where he is very aware of things and when I mentioned the op, he immediately protested and told me his penis ok oredi, even though I can see that it is still swollen.

Haiz, I will monitor and see how going forward. If his infection is frequent, then I may just opt for the op.

[Nancy]

Hi All,


Your son is not able to retract the foreskin, but do his penis look small.

My son has undergo surgery, but his penis head is still hidden. Is it necessary for another operation? The foreskin is quite thick now too…

Thanks for the advice!

[buds]

Heyya Funz, citing reasons of child being infection-free and also the

fact that it is much cleaner AND avoiding multiple visits to the doc
plus the medicating/recovering time each time it happens, i vote
for a YES… go for it.

In fact, i’ll be letting my buds_chubs to go for it too.

[Honey]

When my son had his 1st infection at 5+, the Paed suggested to us to consider circumcision. The 2nd infection came barely 4 mths later & we decided that to go for op. Since the op, it has been problem free. We met an older boy & his mum when we went back for post op check up. When I asked if it was for circumcision, the mum replied oh it’s cut foreskin. She said the older the child, the more painful cos more foreskin to cut away.


My neighbour with a son same age as mine eventually went after her son had quite a few episodes of infections. She regretted not doing it earlier as her son was subjected to much pain each time the infection came back.

My advice is don’t procastinate if you have decided that sooner or later you are going to circumcise your son.

[Funz]

Looks like it is circumcision for DS. Will want to get it done in this 2 mths.


Honey, which doctor/hospital did you go to? DS’s paed suggested going the polyclinic route but I think the wait can be quite long.

[buds]

Yaa Honey, do share as i’m gonna do it for our boy as well.

If not convenient to share here, i hope you don’t mind to
PM me the details. Thanks in advance.

[Funz]

Think I just totally freaked myself out. :nailbite: :scared: Was searching the net for more info about kid's circumcision and found a video on the procedure. Thought I'll review it and see if can share with DS so as to assure him that it is a simple relatively pain free procedure. But OUCH!!!!!


Yup Buds, you have the right idea. Do it when they are still oblivious.

My poor poor boy. Wonder if they can knock him out from surgery till recovery. My this little softee has a very low threshold for pain and I foresee a battle to get him to pee and for us to clean his wound.

Who said boys are easier to care for?

[Funz]

The appointment for my boy’s circumcision is fixed.


I know it is a simple procedure but still worried.