Author: Chen Shanwen (Huashan Hospital, Fudan University)
Finally made a decision, to cut the "foreskin", psychologically always uneasy, whether it needs surgery or not? Where can I do it? Does the surgery hurt? How long is the operation? Need to be hospitalized? How long does it take to recover? How long does it take to have sex? Does surgery affect sexual function?
There are many questions, many online answers, surgeons do not have so much time and patience to explain to you, and there are even many bad private hospitals with overwhelming advertisements waiting for you to fall traps, ranging from losing money to causing irreparable damage to the penis.
Here to remind the majority of male friends who want to circumcise, be sure to go to the regular hospital to find a andrology or urology professional doctor with rich treatment experience to consult foreskin surgery.
The following are my suggestions for the common confusion of patients, combined with my own clinical experience, for your reference.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
FAQ 1: Do you want to have surgery?
If the foreskin is too long, you may not have surgery if:
It is clear that you are only too long foreskin, not phimosis, too long foreskin can be turned down normally, penis erection, no pain in sexual life and other abnormal manifestations.
Have good personal hygiene habits, usually pay attention to turn over the long foreskin to wash. Some people also suggest that it is best to keep exposed (exposure therapy) all the time, so that the glans gradually adapts to the outside world, but care should be taken not to expose for too long, and the foreskin should be reset in time, otherwise there may be problems with incarceration and edema of the foreskin.
Consider foreskin surgery if you have:
vexation! -----------------
There is a history of or repeated episodes of inflammation such as foreskin balanositis.
The glans has a history of sexually transmitted diseases such as genital warts.
The glans is sensitive and accompanied by a short duration of sexual life (premature ejaculation).
FAQ 2: Where to go for surgery?
Adhere to the regular hospital treatment, the so-called "regular" hospital, usually with the name with "people", "university affiliated", "the first, second, third, fourth", "health center" and other words, regular hospital is usually a public welfare hospital, rather than for the purpose of pure profit, its price and treatment plan are supervised by the government, follow the industry standard, formal + professional = good results, this is the first step to ensure the success of treatment.
FAQ 3: Is the procedure taking longer?
Foreskin surgery is usually performed in the outpatient small operating room or operating room, and is performed by 1 to 2 doctors. The time required varies depending on the surgical modality.
Traditional foreskin surgery uses pure manual excision and suture, the longest surgical time required, about 20 to 30 minutes, outpatient surgery, no need for hospitalization, postoperative observation for half an hour, no special discomfort can go home;
The operation time using the commercial ring ligation method is short, only 5 to 10 minutes, and the 7 to 10 days after the operation need to return to the hospital for ring removal;
The foreskin cutting suture method also has a short surgical time of only about 8 minutes.
FAQ 4: Is surgery painful?
There is no pain during the foreskin surgery. Because the doctor will perform local infiltrative anesthesia, use a needle containing an anesthetic to prick the skin around the base of the penis, and it will take a few minutes to take effect, and the doctor will use forceps to clip the foreskin and wait until you have no pain.
Remember that it is not that you do not feel, but there is no pain, and the cold sensation of foreign bodies on surgical instruments such as forceps will still exist.
It is now also possible to apply compound lidocaine cream to the surface of the foreskin before surgery without needles, with the same effect as local infiltrative anesthesia.
But 1 to 2 weeks after the operation may be penis edema will be very severe, patients will feel penile swelling pain, doctors will give oral swelling, anti-erectile, antibiotics and other drugs, the reason why to take anti-erectile drugs, because if the penis erection will be very painful, and easy to make the suture collapse.
During edema, patients should remember not to sit for a long time, stand for a long time, and do not eat spicy and irritating foods.
FAQ 5: How long can I have sex after surgery?
After foreskin surgery, the wound heals completely and can be sexually active, which takes about 4 to 6 weeks.
If you have sexual intercourse or masturbate within 1 month after surgery, the wound may still crack, if the wound is cracked, please come to the hospital in time to deal with it.
FAQ 6: Does surgery affect sexual function?
Foreskin surgery itself has no effect on sexual function, but there have also been cases of erectile dysfunction due to pain, fear, psychological stress and other factors.
FAQ 7: How much does surgery cost?
The traditional foreskin surgery (pure manual excision and suture legal) surgery costs about 400 yuan, plus preoperative examination fees, intraoperative anesthesia costs, absorbable thread costs, postoperative anti-inflammatory, anti-erectile, pain relief and other drug costs, the total cost is close to 1000 ~ 1500 yuan.
The overall cost of the commercial ring ligation method and the foreskin cutting suture is relatively expensive, with a total cost of about 2000 to 3000 yuan.
brief summary:
Although foreskin surgery is a minor procedure, it has a great impact on men's quality of life and sexual relations.
Before deciding to do foreskin surgery, we must rationally consider various factors and do not blindly believe in various small advertisements and exaggerated publicity of private hospitals.
Again, it is necessary to choose a professional andrology or urologist in a regular hospital for treatment.
*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.
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