Jakob surgery - Would you?

boyohboyohboy wrote: As you know Jakob has been thru so much in his little life. He has only been free from his food allergies a year. Which means he's been able to stay away from dr's only this year. I feel he's become more social and just breaking out into the person he is, away from my protective view, the feeling of always being different, more out going.
He's completing preschool in a week.
Starting kindergarden is what has really brought this to my attention.
Jakob has always "readjusted" himself. It's kinda like he tugs on himself thru the front of his pants. I had felt for awhile it had something to do with the fact that his testicles hadn't decended. Also his circumcision was not done right. Now there are no medical issues with Jakob at all. The circumcision doesn't cause any issues. I took Jakob when he was three to a urologist who said his testicles would work themselves out, they did. But he hasn't stopped grabbing himself. He says it itches. He's been checked and there is no reason other then we think the skin from the incorrect circumcision is tickling him. The dr said two yrs ago, it was a phase and it would stop. It hasn't.
I'm concerned with school starting the other kids will make fun of him. They will notice, it's constant.
I don't want to set him up for a difficult time when he's just learning to be more confident, and fit in.
But my dilemma is, do I put him thru surgery for this? The dr's again, his fear of the Hosp. The risk of surgery for this? They would be fixing his circumcision. I know if I'm going to do it, I need to get it done. I should have done it sooner, but I hate dr's, Hosp, surgeries.
Would you do it or see if he stops?

My3LilMonkeys replied: What does your Dr. say? Do they think the surgery is necessary or that he'll grow out of it?

This is one area I know absolutely nothing about so I'd be more inclined to rely fairly heavily on the Drs. advice.

boyohboyohboy replied: I'm going to ask the dr again, but I'm sure the ped. Will send us back to the urologist.

She told us she could fix the circumcision, but thought he'd out grow this, and he hasn't.
He does it every few mins. And just says it tickles when I tell him to stop.
I've tried lotions, powders, nothing helps. I even switched under ware a few times.

MommyToAshley replied: I have no experience here either. Could it be the laundry detergent or fabric softener? Could you try something that is for sensitive skin without dyes for awhile and see if it helps? Just a thought.

I'd probably go back to the doc and see what they say.

mom21kid2dogs replied: Would boxers be better for him than tighty whities? If it helps, I see LOTS of preschool and Kindy kids in a week, every week. It is very common for the boys to do this. I think for some it starts out as a comfort issue and becomes more of a habit. Gotta tell you, it's stuff like this that makes me glad I'm a girl~LOL!!

boyohboyohboy replied:
So, do you think this is something he still might out grow? I have changed his type of under ware and it hasn't helped. I've used the same laundry soap since he was born.
He doesn't have any other physical reasons to do this.

I really don't want to do surgery.
I'm just wondering if it's worth the risks to avoid the social and emotional aspects of this if he doesn't stop it.
We had intended to just let him decide A's an adult if he wanted or needed the circumcision fixed. It's not abnormal looking.

They kept telling us as his penis grew it would grow into the extra skin, but it hasn't changed and he turns six this year.

msoulz replied: I don't know how to do this, but I'll throw it out anyway. I would try to determine if this is just a habit for him to break or if he truly has discomfort. If it is a habit and he does it at school he is likely to stop when the kids notice and talk about it - which, I know, is what you fear.

Do they mean he will "grow into it" when he hits puberty? I don't think they grow much until then.

I am with you though - surgery would be the absolute last option.

Where are the men?? We need manly opinions on this!

jcc64 replied: I guess I'd like to know what you mean by the circumcision being done "wrong." Does it look abnormal? If the dr says that there is nothing structurally wrong, then I'm assuming you mean it's strictly a cosmetic thing?
Here's my take. Dh (who was born in another country) is uncircumcised. When we had our boys and it came time to make the decision about circumcision, he had no preference except that any procedure had to have some sort of medical justification. When no pediatrician (including my brother) could give us a clear explanation of any clear medical benefit to the procedure, we opted not to circumcise our boys, and that was that. I don't have any judgments about circumcision either way. To me, it's a personal preference, period.
So I don't have any real experience with circumcised little boys. Having said that, I do know that tugging on the little guy downstairs can b/c habitual, almost like a nervous tick, kwim? If he's claiming it's itchy, I suppose you could have him checked for a yeast infection (yes, guys can get them too). Once you've ruled out any underlying medical issues, I'd say you're dealing with a habit, and I cannot fathom subjecting anyone to surgery to address a habit or a behavior.
I'm sure you've talked to him about when it's ok to touch and not touch. Truth be told, it feels good, and little kids are hedonists. Maybe he's just enjoying too much of a good thing. Either way, at this point, it sounds like surgery is unnecessary, unless of course the botched circumcision is really a problem.

boyohboyohboy replied:
I've had him checked for yeast and fungus. We've used gold bond powder for a month..we've tried everything.
How I describe the circumcision is, instead of taking all the skin off all the way around, there was skin left on like a hood, it doesn't cover the top but kinda goes down the shaft. I describe it to my poor husband like that thing on a turkey!
LOL
OH THIS IS AWFUL, but thats my point. I hate that he might have to address this later on. I think that the flap of skin might be tickling him, rubbing on his leg or somewhere that's he's describing as itching.

I talk to him about it non stop but he says to me, what do I do it's itching me!
It would be a cosmetic thing, however it is physically causing itching.

I was hoping maybe someone else experienced this and he might still out grow it.

I'm going to discuss it with the ped, but our ped seems rather suggestive and I don't want him to just say ok because we asked I prefer to not do surgery to remove this skin.
But he does grab it and pulls it forward, I can see where he feels like he is itching it, I don't see him playing with it. He does it and then leaves it alone until it itches again.

It seems to bother me more then it does him.

mckayleesmom replied: Well...I don't know...Russell has a perfect circ and he tugs at himself alot too.....Maybe not as much as Jakob, but enough to notice. I think its just out of habit for Russ.

boyohboyohboy replied:
So do you just ignore it or tell him to stop? Does he tug it and just let go?
My other boys don't do this.

I'm really hoping to be talked out of surgery A's you can tell.

mckayleesmom replied: He does both....If we are at home I will ignore it, but if we are out I will ask him if he has to go to the restroom and usually he doesn't..So I tell him not to tug or pull if he doesn't have to potty. He tugs, pulls and sometimes pinches. Usually he pinches when he has to pee.

cameragirl21 replied: Personally, if it were me and it's a cosmetic thing, I'd assume it will have to be fixed at some point so if he were mine, I'd do it now before he reaches an age where it matters.
But like others here have said, Idk if it will solve the problem you have but if it itches, then something is probably wrong.
In principle, I'm not a big fan of surgery and any medical procedure unless it's necessary but I'd never conisider not circ'ing for both medical and religious reasons but here's the thing--I wonder if they'd have to put him under general to do the surgery, I imagine it could possibly be done with local.
I've witnessed many, many circumcisions and while they don't appear to be especially painful, they are extremely bloody...any cutting down there should imo be done at the earliest possible age to avoid discomfort, awkwardness, etc.
If you've tried everything and he says it itches then it's not just about kids picking on him for adjusting himself, he's obviously in discomfort and no one wants to be uncomfortable down there.