The Circumcision Discussion

[jmspeach]

I know this can be a HUGE debate, and I'm not looking to start any arguments. I was just wondering as you are OB nurses. I'm expecting a boy in July and not sure if we should circ. or not. My husband says yes, it's better medically in the long run. My gpa who just turned 70 had to have a circ. due to endless complications lately.

As nurses in this area, is the medication that they use good? And what are some questions to ask my Dr. about it. I already know that my hospital i'll be at uses a med. when they perform it, I"m just wondering what you all think.

Thanks

Jen :)

[morte, LPN, LVN]

Your post is a contradiction of terms!

how so?

[Littlemisslizzie]

While I didnt read all of the replies on this post I just wanted to throw in my two cents on how circumcision might benefit in the long run. My boyfriend is currently attempting to decide if at the age of 30 if he wants to have the circumcision done. Something which for one reason or another aka no money and no insurance he has put off and simply dealt with it. He has two problems, a) the foreskin does not stretch enough retracted down the member if erect and b) if it does it causes pain and the member it self is so sensitive that it hurts to be touched making sex extremely painful and basically impossible for him with the skin retracted. We practice safe sex and thankfully the use of a condom keeps the foreskin in place for the most part and it is pretty much pain free but what about in a few years when we want children and decide to no longer use condoms? When he went to the doctors when he was 18,19 they told him that with time and use that the skin would loosen and the over sensitively would lessen, he tried a betamethasone cream and that didnt help either. I feel terrible for my dear boyfriend because im sure that his lack of an abilty to really enjoy sex when he was younger was part of the reason he self medicated with alcohol for so many years. Ive done alot of reading and ive come across a procedure known as a Preputioplasty which seems safer and more geared towards his problem. Does anyone have any thoughts on that as a alternative to latter in life Circumcision?

[AirforceRN, RN]

I have to admit I had to look up Preputioplasty...had never heard of it before. It seems like a relatively simple operation and there appears to be quite a bit of literature (peer reviewed) available if you are willing to look for it and pay. I wonder if it didn't work would your boyfriend be able to progress to full circumcision or is it kind of a one shot deal? Anyway, I hope for his sake (and yours) he can get it sorted out.

I'm sure he thinks it would have been easier to be circumcised as a child to avoid this problem and he is undoubtably correct but I don't think the prevalence of phimosis or paraphimosis is high enough to warrant circumcision by default.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

While I didnt read all of the replies on this post I just wanted to throw in my two cents on how circumcision might benefit in the long run. My boyfriend is currently attempting to decide if at the age of 30 if he wants to have the circumcision done. Something which for one reason or another aka no money and no insurance he has put off and simply dealt with it. He has two problems, a) the foreskin does not stretch enough retracted down the member if erect and b) if it does it causes pain and the member it self is so sensitive that it hurts to be touched making sex extremely painful and basically impossible for him with the skin retracted. We practice safe sex and thankfully the use of a condom keeps the foreskin in place for the most part and it is pretty much pain free but what about in a few years when we want children and decide to no longer use condoms? When he went to the doctors when he was 18,19 they told him that with time and use that the skin would loosen and the over sensitively would lessen, he tried a betamethasone cream and that didnt help either. I feel terrible for my dear boyfriend because im sure that his lack of an abilty to really enjoy sex when he was younger was part of the reason he self medicated with alcohol for so many years. Ive done alot of reading and ive come across a procedure known as a Preputioplasty which seems safer and more geared towards his problem. Does anyone have any thoughts on that as a alternative to latter in life Circumcision?

and i would have to wonder if some scarring from inappropriate care as a child isnt the problem....

[Joe12]

Sorry to hear about your boyfriend. Prepuceplasti is a very good option when non surgical techniques have failed. In general I would try steroid cream a d stretching first and the prepuceplasti. It is far less invasive and he'll retain the look and function of the foreskin. Circmcision can be done if prepuceplasti fails bt that is rare. Circumcision may be an option if his phimosis is complicated by significant scarring. Here is one of many journal articles that describe it:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2490/8/6

[consult2]

Your post is a contradiction of terms!

How so?

[consult2]

how so?

LOL, sorry I posted b4 I read you comment--and it seems you beat me to the punch.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

LOL, sorry I posted b4 I read you comment--and it seems you beat me to the punch.

lol, great minds and all that, it was funny we chose the same two word phrase, though

[mommytotwo]

There are different kinds of clamps, but bob above said it most clear. That is the long and short of the procedure. The babies who don't scream are usually sick, or hypoglycemic. An option for you, if you do decide to circ, would be to speak to a uroligist. See if you could have it done by a urologist, verses the OB (who is who did the circ's at my hospital!). Many of the circs done by the OB's were...well lets say less than perfect.

[consult2]

There are different kinds of clamps, but bob above said it most clear. That is the long and short of the procedure. The babies who don't scream are usually sick, or hypoglycemic. An option for you, if you do decide to circ, would be to speak to a uroligist. See if you could have it done by a urologist, verses the OB (who is who did the circ's at my hospital!). Many of the circs done by the OB's were...well lets say less than perfect.

ALL circumcisions are less than perfect--they remove healthy, functional, normal erogenous tissue--the whole concept of needless infant circumcision is less than perfect--in fact harmful, and frankly, medically unethical...regardless WHO does them.

[BabyLady, BSN, RN]

ALL circumcisions are less than perfect--they remove healthy, functional, normal erogenous tissue--the whole concept of needless infant circumcision is less than perfect--in fact harmful, and frankly, medically unethical...regardless WHO does them.

There benefits that are medically documented for circumcision...such as a lowered chance of HPV and HIV infection.

Because of this, I would expect a resurrgence of circumcisions in the coming years.

The only thing medically unethical about a circumcision is that handful of physicians that choose to perform them without any pain control at all..which to me, hospitals should ban that practice.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/circumcision.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/26/healthmag.circumcision.hpv.herpes/index.html

http://www.fsneo.org/JourClub/3-023.htm

[morte, LPN, LVN]

There benefits that are medically documented for circumcision...such as a lowered chance of HPV and HIV infection.

Because of this, I would expect a resurrgence of circumcisions in the coming years.

The only thing medically unethical about a circumcision is that handful of physicians that choose to perform them without any pain control at all..which to me, hospitals should ban that practice.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/circumcision.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/26/healthmag.circumcision.hpv.herpes/index.html

http://www.fsneo.org/JourClub/3-023.htm

u

please site your sources....if you have been reading this thread all the way thru, you would know that most of these stats have been proven very ....hmm ephemeral.....exagerated, misstated....etc