Circumcising an Older Child

Get a second opinion from another doctor, would be my first bit of advice. If it's going to cause bigger issues down the road, get it done sooner rather than later. Younger children tend to be able to move past things like this faster than an older one, maybe it's the awarness of what's really going on.

A male friend of mine had to have his done at 20 for medical reasons. He said it was EXTREMELY painful by that time. HOWEVER, he said that once it had healed, it was the best decision he'd ever made. He also said that while sex felt different, it wasn't any less sensative. He said it kinda compared to the difference between wearing a condom and not wearing one. It still felt good ... it just felt different.

A friend of mine had to have her son's redone as his was botched as a baby. He had it done when he was six. It was a very painful experience all the way around.

If this is for medical reasons, I would get at least two opinions from doctors. This is a medical decision, not a cultural/social one.

As far as the cultural/social issue, over half of boys in the U.S. are not circumcised now, so the old "lockerroom" reason no longer holds water.

my brother wasn't as an infant and do you know what he asked for as a 13th bday present? He knew the next year in middle school he would be naked in a locker room with other boys and was mortified at the thought of being different. He and I are pretty open about this stuff and he has never once said he regrets the procedure and was adament about having the procedure done on his infant son.

And ps, my parents gave him actual bday presents - I was just making a point that it was so important to him that he was willing for it to be his only present.

We had our son circumcised at age 4. Our oldest was done in the hospital and it was a bad experience. So, when our second son came along, 17 months later, we decided against it. This was about 10 years ago, when the circumcision pendulum had started to swing toward NOT having it done. We/I had no issue with one brother being circ. and one not. However, several years later, my hubby (who had been on board with not having it done for boy #2) talked to a guy at work, who had it done as an adult and said it was horrible. He basically said to get our son done, NOW! I was not happy. There was no reason for it, and there had been several others, we personally knew, who had opted out of circumcising. But, after at least a year of discussion, I gave in. I don't have the "equipment" to truly know how it would feel, so I let hubby make an appointment. ANYWAY......he had it done as outpatient and it went really well. He was put under and after staying in recovery for at least an hour, I want to say...(can't remember details, much)..he was given a popsicle and we were on our way. His healing process was minimal and he really didn't complain of pain at all. I wish hubby hadn't been so insistent, but everything worked out ok, so I guess there's no harm.
As far as the process, itself, our son was asleep, so he didn't feel a thing. And, like I said, the healing was very fast and went well. I wish you luck!!

Hi, A.
What is the reason for doing a circumcision now?
Have you discussed this with your child?
This needs to be agreed upon with him.
This is a scary situation for the child, plus it deals
with his sexuality as a male.
Just a thought.
D.

My son was circumcised at about 8 months of age. We adopted him from Guatemala and he was not circumcised when we brought him home. It was very important to his dad that he be circumcised so that they looked the same, and also because he remembered how cruel boys in the locker room could be. In fact, our urologist said that his two grown sons could tell him still today which boys were the uncircumcised ones! Anyway, to address your question, I don't know how old your son is, but they of course put him under to do the procedure at this age. By far the worst part of the whole experience was him waking from the anesthesia! He woke in an inconsolable rage, which is apparently common at this age. Luckily, he had an IV and so they just gave him a little bit of a sedative and he fell back to sleep for about an hour and when he woke up, he was happy as a clam! He never even seemed to notice any discomfort and, in fact, rode on his little ride toy about 2 hours after we got home! It was a little uncomfortable during diaper changes for a few days but even that wasn't too bad. Unlike newborns, they stitch the area and so it isn't as raw. I have a friend who had her son circumcised at the age of 3 and she had a very similar experience to ours. Good luck! Hopefully your experience will be as easy as ours was!

I had to have my youngest son's redone at 1-1/2 because the pediatrician botched it the first time, didn't even look as if she'd done anything. He had to go to a Children's Hospital, inpatient, but did really well, doesn't remember a thing and the problems we were having went away.

He would go to pee and seemed the urine just kind of pooled and then burst out and he would SCREAM when we had to change his diaper. After he was recircumsised he never had those problems and was fine.

What has happened that it may be necessary??

Wow... What a problem to have. =(

I would do lots and lots of research and go with your gut.

How old is your child? I had my 3 boys done in the hospital. From what I have head it is an awful experience if you have it done when the boy is older and can remember.