[acesmommy]

Hi Everyone, Our little boy Ace is 16 months old and has been home for almost 6 months. He is having a circumcision on Aug 4th. He has a condition called phimosis were his foreskin will never retract.
I was wondering if any of you could share your expereinces with an older child having a circ. I'm so nervous and very anxious about him having it done. He is having it done by a pediatric uroliogist at a children's hospital.

Thanks Tiffani

[ourdreamcametru]

Our son, who is fixing to be 14, was circumcised at birth. Because if adhesions where the circumcision tried to reattach itself he had to be re-circumcised when he was 4. He had no problem and was up and running within a couple of hours of being home!!! Good Luck!

[beverlyanderic]

My son had phomosis, too. He was circ'ed at 13 months old. I was freaked out at the sight of it after the surgery, so prepare yourself, especially if you have a weak stomach. I cried during all of the diaper changes that day and the next. It was actually quite emotional and terrible for me since I was overwhelmed with fear about his pain. I spent two days regretting the decision since I let my emotions overcome me. It would be wise to have someone help you if you think that you may be prone to this reaction.

The surgery was very early in the morning, so the fasting issue was no concern. He was not too hungry all day, but his appetite returned the next day. We stayed on top of the pain with the medication and dedicated a few days to lots of attention and cuddles. Whatever he wanted, he got. We didn't go out of the house for a couple days. He was 100% in a week.

We used bacitracin ointment for a week at each diaper change then switched to vaseline. It may help to have them on hand prior to the surgery so you won't have to remember to ask for it when filling his pain Rx. I tended to change him more frequently than usual since I was worried about urine bothering him in the diaper. Maybe have all the diapers for a week on hand. Oh, another thing is that Octavio peed on me for the first time the evening of the surgery. I had another diaper or towel on hand for diaper changes after that.

I was very concerned about some lines around the head of his penis... I thought that the urologist messed up. Turns out that they were stitches and take longer to heal than the open wound. His penis looks completely normal now, 5 months post-op.

The only other advice or perspective that I can give is make sure that you prepare for stress. Make a few meals ahead of time. Don't forget to sleep. Whatever it is that you know can stress you out, eliminate it. Every kid reacts to this experience differently, so brace for the worst.

[triciabn]

Interesting that they would know this by 16months. No intact boy , that I know, has retracted before 2years old and/or potty training.
They must really be able to tell these things genetically these days.
Tricia

[humanpitchpipe]

My son is 19 months and he is getting circumcised on Friday. I will keep you updated on how it goes. (BTW - his skin does retract and has for the past few months). When my nephew was circumcised as a newborn, I made sure to look at it right after it happened so that I could be prepared for it. It was gross!

[w8ting4Thomas]

While our son was about 12 months (not quite as old), it was a BREEZE. No issues at all and he was up and running around as soon as we got home. He was pitiful when he awoke in the recovery area, but after they got his ready to go he was fine.
Good luck to you and your son!

[bls0708]

My son just had the procedure done a month ago at 2 years old. He was just fine. I think my reaction to the sight of him and not wanting to hurt him, made him really milk the situation for about a week or two afterwards. He is perfectly fine... and I agree with beverlyanderic's post... I felt regret afterwards, too. There is nothing more heartwrenching that watching your child come out of anesthesia. Good luck to you and your soon.

[fochtru]

Andrew was circumcised and had tubes put in his ears on the same day. He was 17 months old and had no problems. He ate like a horse when we got home and was moving around as usual that afternoon. He did point to his diaper for about 2 weeks and say, "Ow" whenever I changed him. lol He also had some discomfort for a few nights when his diaper was wet.
I agree with Beverly--I was more upset than he was and felt SO bad about what I had done to him. Within two weeks though, the stitches had fallen out and his penis looked fine--no more redness.
Bacitrate and gauze will be your best friends for the first few weeks.

[acesmommy]

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories. All of your suggestions were great. I guess I'm just nervous. Poor little guy doesn't even know what's coming. I hope it's over quick and he's back to his old self soon.
I'll let you all know how it goes.

Thanks Again
Tiffani

[beejay]

my ds was done when he was 12 months. he was fine in less than 24 hrs after the procedure. The penis is really sore looking, all swollen & bruised. Good luck.

[nurse_reedle]

I hope it goes well. I am wondering how they know he has it, since little boys aren't supposed to retract at that age, and they don't have "phimosis" truly unless they pass puberty and still have it. So I am curious....is there some test for it to tell??

[redru2004]

Lucas was 22 months old when he was circumcised and he did just fine. By the time we were home from the hospital he was eating like a horse. He was a little sleepy that day, but the next day he was running around like his old self and never indicated he was in pain. I think we used tylenol for the first night or 2 as instructed and then went to nothing.

[giovanni7460]

When Giovanni came home at 10 months, his medical records in Guatemala stated that he as well had that. I did not have him circumcised. The Dr. as of now says he is fine.
I hope your little boy is feeling better soon after surgery.
Patty

[LisaDR]

They maybe dx him with phimosis so insurance will cover the procedure. Chase had his done at 11 months... pretty much the same as everyone else... the first 2-3 pees after he whined a bit.. but then was fine... mommy feeling guilty a lot longer..Keep it super lubed with some kind of ointment my dr. suggested vaseline.. I also globbed a bit in the front of the diaper so the diaper didn't adhere to the penis it was really just an extra precaution but not necessary