In the outpatient clinic, doctors often encounter little boys who are brought to see by their parents because "Tintin" is too small, does it matter if "Tintin" is too small?
The doctor said
Specific analysis of the specific situation, mainly to see the real penis short, or fake penis short. True short penis is medically called "small penis", which is relatively rare. Most short-looking "tintins" are a different case – an occult penis.
What is an occult penis?
The occult penis, that is, the penis is "hidden", is a developmental abnormality that is more common in children. According to statistics, the incidence in children is about 0.3%.
It is mainly due to the lack of a tight fit between the skin of the penis and the body of the penis (which can be accompanied by increased subcutaneous fat), and because of the narrow opening of the foreskin, the penis body retracts to the underside of the skin, and the appearance is particularly short, and the foreskin is like a bird's beak.
The main harm of the occult penis is to affect the normal development of the penis, and some children will also have repeated foreskin infections and difficulty urinating.
How to judge the occult penis?
In fact, it is very simple, if you think that the appearance of the baby's penis is small, you can push the skin around the penis backwards, if you can reveal the normal size of the penis body, then you have to consider the hidden penis.
How is it a normal-sized penis? The length of the penis must be measured according to strict norms, that is, the head of the penis is stretched as far as possible by hand, so that its length is equivalent to the length of the full erection of the penis, and the distance from the pubic joint to the top of the penis is measured with a ruler as the length of the penis.
Due to the large individual differences in penile development, the measurement method is also more professional, and if there is any doubt, it is recommended to find a professional doctor for evaluation.
The difference between an occult penis and a phimosis
Is the occult penis a phimosis? Of course not, parents must not be confused.
Phimosis refers only to the inability to turn up the foreskin to reveal the head of the penis due to the narrowing of the foreskin mouth. In the case of phimosis, the appearance of your baby's penis is still normal in size and does not appear particularly small.
If the penis is compared to a pencil, then in the case of phimosis, we can still see the "pen shaft", but the hidden penis can only see the "pen head".
How is occult penis treated?
Occult penises need to be treated, otherwise it will affect the development of the penis.
1. Lose weight
Some children's occult penises may be due to obesity. Obesity leads to a buildup of fat prepubular (i.e., around the body of the penis), making it impossible for the penis to be exposed properly.
For obese children, lose weight first. After weight loss, some children's occult penis may heal itself and do not require further treatment.
2. Surgical correction
For children who are not obese or still have an occult penis after weight loss, orthopedic surgery for the penis should be done.
Generally speaking, surgery can be considered after the age of 1, but the specific optimal operation time also depends on the specific situation of the child, which requires a professional doctor to evaluate.
It should be emphasized that the occult penis must not only do "circumcision". If the foreskin is cut, not only will the appearance of the penis be shorter, but also lead to the lack of skin of the penis, and it will be very difficult to correct the occult penis in the later stage.
The Department of Pediatric Urology of Tongji Hospital has integrated a variety of different surgical methods, optimized the surgical method of occult penis, and almost does not affect the aesthetics after surgery, just like only doing circumcision.
Source: Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Hubei Radio and Television University Health Development Center Graphic Editor: Zhang Yiling
【Source: Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology】