My sons circumcision was done wrong?

[nov 09 mum]

I know a lot of these board are anti-circ but I could really use some help/support/opinions anything!


Ok so my son was circumcised when he was 20 days old. I thought everything looked fine. At about 10 months I went to change his nappy and his 'foreskin' was bright red and very swollen. I took him to A&E and the doctor gave him antibiotics and wrote down in his notes that he had a 'partial circumcision'. It was in the back of my mind for a few months before this that my sons penis didn't look how I thought it would after a circumcision so I went home and researched..

This was not what we had asked the doctor to do :( most of his penis is still covered with foreskin, only the end isn't, it can be fully retracted though. When he does a wee in the shower or bath, it obviously sticks out and looks near normal but when I change his nappy his penis is pretty much fully covered by foreskin and burried a little?

He's had a few of these redness episodes after the first big one and my dr suggested having more foreskin removed? *cries*

I don't know what to do. I want it to be done properly like we asked but worried we waited to long (he's 18 months now) and i'm worried maybe this time they will take too much and that would cause even more problems.

It really started bothering me when we found out we are having another boy, I don't know what to do, get it fixed? leave it alone? My health nurse said to leave it until he is older because he 'may grow into it'.. Is that true? I am going to feel terrible when say for example they are both in the bath one day and realise that it's not the same. I don't want my first son thinking he is odd for not looking like his brother.

Who would even fix something like this? I feel so terrible.

Edited to add. I found this post on circle of mums, kinda how I would describe my sons..

'Yea, that sounds similar to what my sons penis is like. With his you can still see the head of his penis but it's almost like they only did a 'half' circumcision. Sometimes the skin hides a lil more than other times but for the most part the head of his penis is 90% visible. And I can pull the skin back over his penis like a circumcised penis but it just folds back over. My doctors have said his penis looks normal and it works just fine (as far as I can tell - he pee's properly) and we just clean it every diaper change.'

They are taking about a 'fat pad' but my baby boy isn't chubby at all. I don't know what to think, sorry this is so long :(

[PsychedAboutMike]

in my honest opinion if the doc thinks it needs to be fixed as its giving him infections then that would be the best thing. i would definaley not circumcise(sp?)

[Blairysmum]

This happened to my cousin.. Well they discovered it only a couple of months after the first circumcision, he needed to be "re done" I guess as like you said it was a partial circumcision. With his the bottom of his doodle had foreskin where the top didn't.. If that makes sense!
Anyway it was way more hassle then what it was worth, but he is four now and his penis looks completely normal and once it was fixed it didn't bother him. But before hand he did get a pretty nasty infection.

[nov 09 mum]

The Dr that told me to think about fixing it is only a GP, she didn't do the circ so that's why I don't really know what to do. We had to go to another town to have him done cause they don't do it here.

Yeah that makes sense, my son has a little more at the bottom, not alot though. Do you happen to know what sort of Dr they seen, was it a plastic surgeon? My health nurse said that is who I should see if I want it fixed. Seems like such a big word for something that was supposed to be so simple :(

[Sheer Bliss]

:hugs::hugs::hugs: There might be some drs that perform RIC that would have a look at him to make the decision.

Keep in mind that infections may or may not be caused by the 'partial circ' so make sure you get all the appropriate information. It would also be very likely that they would have to put him under a general anesthetic to have it done now that he is older. TBH if it was me, i'd leave it for now and see if the infections are re-curring or not. It's something that cold be less risky to have preformed when he is a little older, but if the infections come back, it's probably best to get it fixed sooner.

I am sorry that this has happened.

[Jenga]

A similar thing happened to my son. It was not done properly the first time. Several years later I saw the GP when he had an infection. The GP referred me to a new surgeon who corrected it. He was about 6 or so the second time round (I think). He went under general anaesthetic but had no issues, not alot of pain. We just had to put vaseline on it for a few days and I put a ladies pad in his underwear. He's now almost 13 and hasnt had any problems since.

I was like you, scared and confused but I am glad we went through with it. My son is not traumatised in any way. Try to find a surgeon that you know someone has been to before & they recommend. Someone mentioned seeing a plastic surgeon.. I didn't see a plastic surgeon, I saw a paediatrician & I would use him again if we have another boy down the track.

Good Luck!

[ro83]

Same thing has happened to us and we have chosen to leave it be. He had alot of infections afterwards and a handful of cooking salt in his bath stopped these. He is now 20 months and I think it is getting abit better, it does seem to be growing into itself. Good luck I hope it all goes well on whichever you decide to do

[bg14]

I remember our doc saying about the 'puppy fat' above the penis pushing the skin forward until they are about two and thin out. He was very clear about pulling the puppy fat upwards to ensure any collection of dead skin etc was cleared from the head of the penis. Sorry if this makes no sense...

[circangel]

Sorry to hear about this. I know (have heard) it does happen from time to time and I guess that is where parents find out the doctors experience etc to help avoid this I guess. I have heard of it (circumcision) needing to be redone in some instances, something to consider perhaps.
I know a lot of these board are anti-circ but I could really use some help/support/opinions anything!


Ok so my son was circumcised when he was 20 days old. I thought everything looked fine. At about 10 months I went to change his nappy and his 'foreskin' was bright red and very swollen. I took him to A&E and the doctor gave him antibiotics and wrote down in his notes that he had a 'partial circumcision'. It was in the back of my mind for a few months before this that my sons penis didn't look how I thought it would after a circumcision so I went home and researched..

This was not what we had asked the doctor to do :( most of his penis is still covered with foreskin, only the end isn't, it can be fully retracted though. When he does a wee in the shower or bath, it obviously sticks out and looks near normal but when I change his nappy his penis is pretty much fully covered by foreskin and burried a little?

He's had a few of these redness episodes after the first big one and my dr suggested having more foreskin removed? *cries*

I don't know what to do. I want it to be done properly like we asked but worried we waited to long (he's 18 months now) and i'm worried maybe this time they will take too much and that would cause even more problems.

It really started bothering me when we found out we are having another boy, I don't know what to do, get it fixed? leave it alone? My health nurse said to leave it until he is older because he 'may grow into it'.. Is that true? I am going to feel terrible when say for example they are both in the bath one day and realise that it's not the same. I don't want my first son thinking he is odd for not looking like his brother.

Who would even fix something like this? I feel so terrible.

Edited to add. I found this post on circle of mums, kinda how I would describe my sons..

'Yea, that sounds similar to what my sons penis is like. With his you can still see the head of his penis but it's almost like they only did a 'half' circumcision. Sometimes the skin hides a lil more than other times but for the most part the head of his penis is 90% visible. And I can pull the skin back over his penis like a circumcised penis but it just folds back over. My doctors have said his penis looks normal and it works just fine (as far as I can tell - he pee's properly) and we just clean it every diaper change.'

They are taking about a 'fat pad' but my baby boy isn't chubby at all. I don't know what to think, sorry this is so long :(

[PickMe]

Due to infections and foreskin tightness my ds had to be done at 4 yrs though it was a full circ... we were told that unfortunately if they suffer infections all the time no matter how clean they are then it needs to be done, i would say its better to have it fixed as i would assume that the would still be bacteria that can get into the remaining skin to cause infection so it will keep happening until then unfortunately... they wont take too much off because theres a pretty clear line to show where they need to stop. He will be ok :)

[RobW]

Australian doctors are no longer trained to do circumcisions and as a result there are only a few who know how to do them properly. Recircumcision should be a rare event but as one can see, the skills are lacking and so complication rates are higher than they should be.

Circumcisions need to be done carefully and tailored to the individual.
Here's hoping that the resurgence in circumcision requests will bring back formal training. There are newer devices now available that do a great and SAFE job- see the AccuCirc!