It reattached and I had no clue!

trojas · September 2013

So I take my LO in for his 15 month check-up today and the doctor tells me that his foreskin reattached to the rim (bottom) of the penis. First, I'm mad at myself for not realizing this - I feel like such an asshole. Secondly, I kinda blame the doc because she's checked his penis on previous check ups and never told me anything about it being reattached.

She said I can try pulling it back over the next few weeks and see it that helps and if it doesn't it's 'not a big deal'. My son won't have a normal looking penis! Of course its a big deal! I'm going to take him to the urologist who did the circ to see what he sees, but in the meantime...

Has this happened to anyone else? Did your LO have to get re-circumcised? Does this resolve itself?

Please offer some words of wisdom.

I feel like such a terrible mom right now.

Amanda2011 · September 2013

A little boy I used to babysit had this happen. I think the dr pulled it back in the office but I'm not positive. Your not a bad mom! I think it is somewhat common and really is fixable. Try not to worry until you see the dr. (Easier said than done)

oliversmommy32912 · September 2013

Penile adhesions are somewhat common. The doctor can pull it back and you can watch it closely and put petroleum jelly on it to keep it from re-adhering or you can leave it alone and it will likely separate on it's own by puberty (when the foreskin would have naturally separated on it's own if he had not been circumcised). Pulling it back in the doctors office sounds rather painful so my vote would be to leave it alone and address it later if it does not resolve itself. I have heard people say they were given a topical cream that loosens the tissues if it did not separate by puberty.

CholeCO2006 · September 2013

This happened to my son except it started when he was just a few months old. It is very common but nothing that the doctor or any of the baby books really warn you of, which is frustrating. They talk about the skin reattaching immediately after circumcision, but not that it could be an issue for months or years to come. Our pedi wasn't worried about it but he did prescribe a topical cream when he was around 6-9 months, but it didn't do anything. He didn't want to unattach by just pulling it back in his office. We ended up taking him to a urologist who also said he wasn't worried about it and that he'd grow out of it. He said the more you pull it apart and it reattaches, then it builds up scar tissue, which isn't good. He said surgery wasn't necessary as its only for cosmetic reasons right now since its not bothering him. So I guess we'll just wait it out, although I feel guilty that we didn't know to keep a better eye on this when he was a baby.

anna&jl2011 · September 2013

This happen to my DS. I noticed it when he was about 9 months old. His ped was not concern about it at all and told me it should come loose by the time he was 5 but I was stressed out. I have been pulling it back almost every diaper change using a little force and it has almost completely back to normal. Just one little area still attached.

RamseySD · September 2013

My son also had adhesion. Our doc said it would separate on its own with normal little baby erections, but that we could gently pull the skin every night in the bath. It was back to normal within 9 months or so.

PseudoMama · September 2013

the options for fixing an adhesion are:

1) the dr will pull it back during the dr visit

2) they will prescribe steroids

Since your dr didn't do either of these things, I am like really questioning them! They should never suggest for you to pull it back (at least that is what my dr told me - not to try and pull it back myself).

alnelsen · September 2013

We see kids pretty commonly for this where I work in the pediatric surgery center. By the time they've seen us, it is for surgical correction, and typically they wait to correct it surgically until 4 or 5. The surgeons do recommend pulling it back gently at each diaper change, and using petroleum jelly as well to decrease the risk of it adhering again. Some of them will attempt to correct it in the office, but only if it's one extremely small area. Otherwise, by the time they're 4 or 5, if it hasn't happened on its own, is causing the child to bleed with normal erections, etc, then they correct it surgically.

I've never seen a kid come back to have it done again once it's been repaired once, but I'm sure that can happen if you aren't extremely diligent about pulling it back after the repair is completed. For what its worth, if he does end up having to correct it with surgery, kids bounce back from it super quickly, and it appears (from a recovery nurse standpoint) to not bother them much at all.

We always instruct the parents to make an upside down "V" with the forefinger and middle finger, place it on the abdomen at the base of the penis, and press down. It will naturally cause the foreskin to retract, and seems to cause the least amount of discomfort. Good luck!!

singingirl96 · September 2013

this happened twice to my son. When he was about 5 months I noticed that he had a little white cottage cheese like goo around his rim, so I asked the pedi about it and he mentioned that his foreskin reattached. He told me to add a little pressure everytime I changed his diaper because it is less painful than him doing it all at once, and sure enough, after a couple of days one side became unattached, and there was a LOT of that cottage cheese white stuff (smegma) under the foreskin in a created 'pocket' under the skin. It was gross and I felt like a horrible mother letting this get so bad without noticing anything was wrong. So I kept pulling it back every diaper change, then the other side detached.
Again at his 12 month appointment, his pedi said it had reattached again.... How did I not notice it again? Well, after a couple of days pulling it back gently, it loosened up again.
So, yes, keep pulling it back gently. If it detaches, keep using vaseline on it.

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