circumsision

[7777777]

just came back for out of surgery dox and my ds 11yr old has been told hes got to have a circumsision (spelt wrong im sure) as hes had a couple of infections. hes so upset bless him

oh gosh jco. poor you and your little ds.my friends son had his foreskin stretched at the end of last year, he was four. i havent spoken to her for ages but when i saw her ds at the hospital he looked quite happy but i dont think the procedure is as painful from wot i can gather. im rekoning on a 6month wait for my ds as well. obviously he knows all the details because hes older which is awful. perhaps you could tell your little one that the nice doc is going to make willy better and he l get a nice big pressie after!i think wotever we say they are both going to cry and get upset. i think its worse for us seeing them so upset. i wont be letting my ds have a pre med as when he had his tonsils out they gave it to him and he got really aggressive!

i don't know whats worst really, me with a 5 year old who doesn't have the faintest idea what is happening or you with your 11 year old who knows exactly what is going to happen and so will be worrying about it. Does your son have to have a general aneasthetic? its the one things i forgot to ask today

i think theyl have to have a general as its a cutting procedure isnt it. couldnt imagine them doing it under a local, dont think an adult would want to be awake. im going to try and make him think about a new playstation game!imagine how worried we'll be wen we get the actual apts through!perhaps someone else on here will read this thread that has had a young one have it done and give you some ideas on wot to say. i prob wouldnt know wot to say , in reality it probly would be more difficult to explain to him being only 5.

He knows that his willy keeps getting sore so think i'll just say that the dcotor is going to put him asleep then do something to make it all better. don't think i'll tell him they are going to cut him cos think that would really scare him. god i feel sick just thinking about it. poor little things having to go through this!!!

Yes it is usually day surgery with a general anaesthetic, we weren't offered a pre-med but that didn't seem to matter. They also give them a penile or spinal block(like an epidural) which depends on the doctors preference. This helps the pain, especially when doing their first wee. My ds had his op early afternoon and we were home at 8pm. He had it done on a Wed and was moving about well on Sunday, but he could get about straight away..had to walk out of hospital which he did fine. They give you painkillers which do do the trick. The stitches they use are dissolvable which is just as well! We had been told it would look awful but it wasn't as bad as we had anticipated. It's a horrible thing for them to have done but thinking about it was much worse than the reality. My ds had a sick bug over new year and he said he'd rather have the op again than feel like he did that day. I was surprised but he was the one who had it done so knows better than me.

Hi jco. Really sorry to hear about your son too. Its so upsetting and horrible. My ds is 10 so understood what was happening which as you say could be better or not. With my children ( dd-12, ds-10 and ds-7) I always tell them things on a need to know basis only. I think what you said about being put to sleep and the doctor making his willy better sounds great.

I don't know if it's the same for an older boy, but after ds was circumcised as a newborn, he did not cry when weeing. In fact, he didn't seem bothered by it at all. Of course an older child's wee will be different to a younger child, but I wonder whether there's anything you could give your dss to drink after the op, to make the wee less acidic? Perhaps those drinks made for women with cystitis?

i never thought about the weeing afterwards!we know wot that first wee is like after giving birth if your'e torn so must be the same. oooo poor things, im dreading it even more now.dusty im glad your ds got over it ok, i cant imagine mine not actually going to sleep for it tho, hed be hysterical if awake

just got back for doctors with ds after second opinion, lovely doctor much nicer than the hospital one who poked and prodded to much.she said unless the infections reoccur to leave it for now!!!yippee all that worry for me and son. she said he can gently move it back when bathing but not so much that it hurts and that when hes older it may alter itself (dont know how that could happen). totally different opinion, hope im doing the right thing by leaving it. thanks for all your posts.jco hope your ds's op goes well, let me know.xx

you've got me thinking now, I did ask the doc at the hospital if they could leave it til he was older and he said that although in some cases it does right its self he didn't think that would happen in my ds case. Maybe i should also get a second opinion too as i really don't want to put ds through it unless its really neccessary

Hopefully This? will be of interest to you.

Have you definitely decided to leave it then 7777777? I suppose it gives you and your DS the option to try loosening it over the next few months and see if there's an improvement. Is he relieved (stupid question really!!)

actually miss piggy he was quite put out that he wouldnt get a week off school and a new playstation game!

thanks for the site furball, ive just skimmed it as got visitors coming now but from wot i saw my second opinion was correct i think. his infection was balanitis which is mentioned on there so il have a good look late, very interesting

7777777. Never under estimate the power of time off school with a new PS2 game...love it!

Think I didn't explain properly..ds had a general anaesthetic AND a spinal block, it was only the pre-med they don't give to children anymore. Sorry. Good news about the second opinion..always worth doing.

Hope i'm not too late for some of the boys mentioned on here. The latest research shows that up to 9 in 10 medical circumcisions may have been unnecessary. First of all try stopping bubble baths (just as you would do if you have thrush) then if the problem continues ask the doctor if you he can try steroid cream with gentle stretching. The foreskin information charity www.norm-uk.org (founded by Doctors) can provide you with more information. Also please note that the foreskin of a young child should never never be forcibly retracted. Some, quite naturally, don't move until the teens - it's normal!

Hi - I just wanted to add that I agree with Vikinggirl. My dh wasn't fully retractable until he was in his late teens - and it was never a problem! That was just normal for him.

Boys will retract some time between 3-18, usually. If at 18 they still aren't retractable, simply steroid creams and stretching exercises will clear up the problem in 99.9% of the cases - circumcision is almost NEVER needed.

Also - ballooning is totally normal - that is part of the separation process. As the foreskin separates from the glans (this process happens unevenly), the foreskin will often 'balloon' out when the child pees, and then go back down once all of the pee is out.

Hopefully this can help some of your little ones avoid an unnecessary and painful operation!

I haven't read this and have nothing to contribute but if I post on it then it will stay on my threads I 'm on list and I'll be able to read it through tomorrow (too tired now)
ds1 cannot retract foreskin, whereas ds2 discovered the joy of retraction and is determined to display his skill to all and sundry this week.

carry on , as you were

my 5 yr old boy is going in tmrw for a circumcision and im dreadin it,... i was told it needs doing, now after readin this im not so sure, i didnt know it can retract after they are 18? i wasnt told this!
my nephew is a;so 5 and had it done last week!
hes having a general.. im so scared for him, i knowb it seems silly but hes never been to hospital before