A Do-over Circumcision?

I would diffently get a second opinion from another doctor. If something don't look right to you go with you gut.

how about leaving it alone? All the myths about health and safety have been debunked. Seriously. How would you feel if your clit had no skin protecting it?

C.,

Take him to a pediatric urologist. Find a specialist in your area. I dont' know what your insurance situation is, but quite honestly, 3 opinions is a lot of cash if you have no insurance or are on a state program, they won't pay for that.

Nonetheless, I would skip to the top. See a specialist. I dont' know what city you are in, but if you're close to Minneapolis or Rochester , or Madison, you have top notch physicans. Give them a look see before you jump to anything rash. It may be perfectly fine, but then again, if you're concerned, then it's worth having it checked. Good luck!

C.

Good to know there are more with the same issue. I feel better now. :-)

My second son had the same thing and with having a first son with a "normal" looking one I was concerned as well. I never liked the way it looked, but the pediatrician assured me that it was just the way they were doing them now. He really put me at ease and changed my mind to have it re-done when he said sometimes if they take too much there could be different problems and pain w/ an erection as there is not enough skin to accomodate it and it can pull. Ouch! Hope that helps you out some.

I guess as my second son gets older I won't have to worry about locker room issues since he won't be the only one. There are more and more people who are choosing NOT to circumcise at all so I don't think it will be an issue by the time he gets older.

My son was also cut a little 'short' on his circ as a baby. I think they tend to be a bit conservative nowadays on their circs, as I have had a couple other friends have the same experience. We went and saw a peds urologist to get it looked at. They said because he was a pudgy baby that he would loose the pad of fat on the pelvis and that would help 'pull' the skin back more......they tend to loose that between 18 months to 3 years. He said if that didn't work he would not recirc him just 'tack' the skin back and let it grow pulled back. I contemplated whether I should do that before or after potty training. He is now 3 1/2 and it still is pretty generous but definitely improved. He has never had any problems with adhesions from not having enough circumsized, so I'm just going to leave it.

If you are concerned, I would definitely make an appt with a pediatrician to get it evaluated.

Hi, When my last son was born I had the same problem. I thought the circumcision had left more skin than was needed to be left. I never had anything done with it and he seems to be fine. As he grew I was too embarressed to ask him if he had any problems and he never brought any to my attention. He is expecting his first child this year. All I can tell you is that if I had to do it over, I would definitely have a pediatrician look at him and tell you what his suggestions are. I feel guilty to this day for not asking. I know this isn't much help, but just wanted to tell you my story. Have a nice day. C.

I had the same problem with my son when he was about a year and a half. I was only 17 when I had my son so I didn't notice that it didn't look like it should. When I got with my husband, he asked why I hadn't had him circumcised. I told him I did, and we went to the doctor. We ended up having him re-circumcised. He was 2 1/2 when we had it done. At the time, our doctor said that they would not put Sam to sleep before 2 1/2. So we waited. After the surgery (it was out-patient so he came home the same day) he was very sore, and diaper changing wasn't easy. But now that it's been done (my son is 6 now) we haven't seen any problems and it looks like it should. I do want to mention, that after the surgery, I had a difficult time taking him to the doctor anytime because he would just scream anytime he seen someone in scrubs or with a stethoscope.

Make an appointment with a urilogist. That doctor will know the most and be able to give you the best advice. That is the speciality.

Hi, C.! My sister in law had the same problem with my nephew, and while her pediatrician told her to just want to see if he "grows into it", she decided to have the surgery anyway, she figured if he was going to need it, she'd rather have it happen now (he was about 20 months as well) than later when he would really remember it. The surgery was less than 10 minutes, a couple days of tylenol and he was good to go. The only funny part about it is that when they came home from the hospital he kept saying "ow, you hit me!" and pointing to his crotch. But, if it's something that you are concerned about, even if the dr. says to not worry, go with your gut, you are your son's advocate, not the dr. (unfortunately). Good luck!

Dianne pretty much answered your question they way I would but I thought I'd add that if you do decide to re-do the circumcision it is DEFINITELY better to have it done when your son is younger. It is more painful and you can have more complications as a teen or adult.

i'd leave it alone. as he grows things may/probably will change.

we left our son intact (didn't feel it was necessary or our decision to make), and i think lots of other parents are making the same decision (although by the responses here, you'd think everyone was circ'ing!). i honestly don't think it will be an issue as your son gets older.

i have to say, i'm really impressed with the responses you've been given. this is usually a highly sensitive & divisive conversation - i've honestly never seen it handled so well. yay, mamasource moms!

We don't circumcise, but I recently had to research it for an article. The reasons to redo a circ are because the skin has grown over the head and is stuck to it. I believe extra skin is still there, remember, they are going to grow and will need some skin there so they don't hurt when they have an erection.
The boys I change at church all have extra skin, it just doesn't go over the head.
The peds do check it, and they would notice an adhesion that needed surgery.

We didn't circumcise our son, since we felt it was medically uneccesary, and ultimately not really our decision to make for a cosmetic procedure. When he reaches adult-hood (sometime between 15 and 21 depending on maturatity level) I plan to support his decision at that time and pay for him to have it circumcised if that is what he really wants.

I would say if he is experiencing no medical issues and no other trauma because of it, leave it be and let him decide when he's older.

My son was recircumsized at 1 year and was fine. He basically was only "done" about half way and they said it wasn't a problem but i thought of his future with kids asking q's in locker rooms, whatever. he did fine although your son is a little older ask a 2nd doc's opinion.

My little guy had extra skin. I asked the doctor and he reasured me it was fine. I even got three other opinions from doctors. The last doctor told me because he is a thicker guy he has extra skin that he needs to grow into his boy parts. So I am hoping they are right and he truely won't have to be recircumsized.

Hi C.,
I never had my son circumsized. He's fine, he almost 14. Maybe they just don't remove as much skin now. Best bet is just ask your doctor.
Peace and Health,
S.
http://www.YesToSuccess.net/S.
helping families with health and wealth for 12 years

That's frustrating. My nephew had to have his done over. If it doesn't look right to you then there's problably a problem. I'd get three opinions in total before making the decision to do it over though. They may do it but if you have insurance they may not cover it. It'll be considered cosmetic. Maybe if you go to the doctor who did it then it may be covered. I'm not sure.

In my opinion, it is probably fine and leave it alone. Just talk to any man, and almost any one of them will tell you this seemingly safe and simple procedure should be taken seriously. That part of the body is very delicate, and you want to do as little as possible to it.

If he had a circumcision that doctors deem successful,leave well enough alone. There are plenty of horror stories of circumcisions gone wrong too. And no, they are not urban legend. Here is a link to CBS news' coverage of a famous case involving Johns Hopkins Univ/hospital, involving a very well known case. The victims' story aired about 4 years ago. It's an extreme case of what can go wrong. But I think the parents got themselves in trouble when they couldn't leave well-enough alone.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/reimer/

Hi. I thought the same thing about my sons circumcision. The Dr kept telling me it was fine. He is now 18 months old and it looks very normal now, It just took a little longer for him to grow enough for it to look right.

Hope this helps a bit.
Smiles

Is it causing any problems with urnination with your son?? That would be my biggest concern. The thing that I have noticed about circumcision is that every one looks different. I have seen them done and different doctors have different techniques of doing them. If it is not causing problems, then I would wait until you have a ped and then ask him/her. Good Luck.

Leave it alone. He can decide to have something done when he's old enough to have a say in this very intimate part of his body. We don't circumsise but will support our boys when they get older if they choose to have it done.

Hi C.,
my son had to be re-circumsized too. He was 9 months when we did it, but the doctor said the younger the better. They put him under anesthesia and did it right and stitched the skin where it was suppose to be and gave us neosporine with numbing agent in it. He didn't even realize what happened and it healed quickly. We are glad we did it.

I had a similar experience. I had thought that my son's was not very good. I had seen two of my nephews' when they had it done and my son also seemed to have more skin. I thought that since so many boys were born and having circumcisions the same day that they could have been rushed. My ped assured me that it was fine and that when he grew the baby fat would go away and it would be just fine. I did trust her since we had been seeing her for awhile with my other child, but it just didn't look right. My husband said not to worry and now that he is 4 it looks just fine. I did notice that when he started losing the baby fat everywhere else that went away too.

Someone I knew had her child redone at about 7 due to a piece of skin reattaching. I would check with a dr to see if its ok.

One of my co-workers had her son's redone when he was in 1st grade so definitely do something about it now while he still can't remember. She said he was having a hard time keeping it clean and they didn't take enough skin when they did it after he was first born. I would get a couple opinions especially if you are questioning it.

My sister-in-law had her 1.5 year old redone for the same reasons. We also plan to have our 1 year old (that we just brought home last month after completing an international adoption)circumcised this spring. Just make sure you have a Pediatric Urologist do it not a regular pediatrician due to his age.

Good Luck with your decision.

Hi, My friend's babe didn't look like he was circumsized either...but his mom assured all that he was. She just said the doc told her with some that are bigger, they may not look like it while they are young. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the posting. It's such a hot topic today.

We didn't have our 2 year old circumsized because my husband didn't like the idea even though he himself was circumsized. I was nervous about it because I remember our family doctor convinced my parents to have my brother circumsized at 3 yrs old to prevent bladder infections (he had not even had an infection). Recalling how upset my brother was when came home from the hospital after being circumsized stood in my mind. To this day he remembers it which is really surprising.

I figure that infections can be treated with antibiotics and there isn't any incentive for doctors to discourage the procedure because they profit from it. Circumcising 10 infants weekly for only 10 months of the year at $137 each (1987 U.S. rate), an OB or Pediatrician can earn at least an additional $68,000 in fees annually for only 13 hours of work (it takes about 15 minutes each)!

HCIA-Sachs reports that the total cost of a circumcision in the United States has risen from $1154 in 1992 to $1869 in 1999, an increase of 62%. The total cost of all in hospital neonatal circumcisions in the United States is reported to be $2.1 billion in 1999. Reducing medical expenses by $2.1 billion dollars might help reduce insurance costs a bit... I have to say this in some jest since secretly I wish insurance would cover removing the excess skin leftover on my tummy after my c-section but that's another topic.

Of course you guessed, I wouldn't worry about how your son looks. It will change a lot as he grows older and when he's erect the skin pulls back anyway. If he ends up looking uncircumsized he'll have company since an increasing number of boys in the US are not. Consider that worldwide estimates indicate that the highest estimates indicate only third of men are circumsized. In European & Asian countries the rates are much lower than the US (Denmark 1%, England 3.8%, Germany, France & Spain under 10%). In the end if it really bothers your son he can have if revised when

Best luck on your decision.

well, its hard to tell how it looks from here (sorry) but i thought my son was circumsized incorrectly as well. the skin was cut back, but there was a lot of extra skin i thought. my dr assured me it was fine and he would grow into it, and it looks like there is less skin there now that hes older. so i suppose you could just wait and see, but ultimatly the decision is yours and the father's ( ? )... but wait and see if he grows into that extra skin or something !

Since this is a TOTALLY UNNECESSARY SURGERY to begin with, I would just leave it alone!

I struggled with the decision of whether or not to have my son circumcised, since there is no compelling reason to do it, and some very good reasons not to. We ended up going through with it mostly because of custom (not wanting him to be too different from other boys and Dad), but the doc left a lot more skin than I think is normal. I look at it as giving him the best of both options, "fitting in" while not necessarily reinforcing the arbitrary norm.

editing, because after reading the other responses I just want to make sure people know
THERE IS NO MEDICAL REASON THAT BOYS NEED TO BE CIRCUMCISED! IT IS PERFECTLY FINE IF THEY ARE NOT CIRCUMCISED AT ALL!
Think about it! How would you feel if breast enhancement became so common that you felt compelled to give your daughter implants so that someone would "like the way it looks"?!?

Just a thought. . .any chance you would just leave it as is? I personally did not have any of my 3 boys circumcised. I'm not against circumcision. It just wasn't right for us.
But I do strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. . .maybe this is one of those cases.

I do not have any recommendations as to who to contact. . .sorry! It's been a while.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

By the way, I love that you help children learn about art history, etc. . .!!! I'm an artist and have a huge appreciation for those who teach it to the young community!

J.

If your insurance is GHC I recommend Dr Lo, he just did our BB circ 10 days ago and I think he would be honest with you. Good luck!

We adopted our son from Russia - and he was not circumsized when we got him. We had it done when he was 10 months old. The doctor explained to us that he was not going to take to much off to allow for growth. He did have a lot of extra skin then. My son is now 8 and I don't think it looks like he has excess skin.

Good luck with your decision!

Leave it the way it is, and let him decide on his own when he's old enough. Don't fix it if it ain't broken. That's what I think.

Hi C..
I don't know the specifics exactly, but the same thing happened to my friends little boy. Some of the skin grew back and I think he was a year, or just a little older and they went in and had it redone. She has the same pediatrician I do, but I recently heard that he is not taking new patients. However, his Dr. Partner I believe is. Her name is Dr. Laus. She is in Franklin right on Hwy 36 across from the Library. I'm not sure what kind of ins you have, but they are Aurora based and VERY good doctors, and very friendly. I hope that helps. It never hurts to get a 2nd opinion.
J. W

C.

My 3 1/2 year old son is the same way. Lots of skin and compared to others, he doesn't look circumcised at all. I was worried that it was a botched up job so we talked to our Ped. She assured us that it was just fine. Some doctors cut a lot of skin and some are more conservative. I was told that our son would grow into his own and by the time he gets older - you won't be able to tell the difference. Rest assured - it's probably gonna be ok!

D. in milwaukee

Hi,
My son has a problem down there too it looks like they did not take enough skin off my husband is very worried about it so we took him to a specalist and he has what they call a turkey neck( more skin but mostly on the bottom) and he said that he would be happy to redo it but I am not sure about putting him to sleep that scares me so much and when to get it done he is now 19 months and the minute the diaper comes off his hands are all over the area. I just do not know. It took us a long time to get to see a specialist because with are insurence you need a referal and all the other doctors say it is fine, but he will not let us touch it cause I do need to pull it back cause it reattaches if you leave it alone. I do not have any advise it is good to know that there are others out there thanks for asking the question please let me know who you find we are still looking into this.