"I had to adapt to life with a different penis" – the pain and positive aspects of elective circumcision | Life and style



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My doctor explained with some awkwardness the procedure that I was soon to undergo. "The skin around your … well … when I was in school it was like" bell "."

I was about 20 years old and I was about to undergo elective circumcision in the adult. After having problems with bleeding and tearing, I was diagnosed with phimosis, a condition in which the foreskin retracts with difficulty or not at all. It took me a while to get to the doctor about something that looked shameful – but after the diagnosis, everything progressed quite quickly.

Prior to the operation, the area concerned was isolated by cutting a circle in the fabric under which I was lying on the operating table. A team was formed around me: a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, nurses and perhaps a caregiver or two. The administration of the anesthetic involved – to put it bluntly – is stabbed in the penis with a big needle. The experience was sometimes humiliating, humorous and extremely painful, but in the months following the operation, when I returned to a semblance of normalcy, I felt especially relief.

It is difficult to obtain exact figures on medical circumcision in adults. In most men seeking treatment, the operation involves correcting phimosis, which becomes apparent when they become sexually active. Insertion sex, in particular, can cause retraction of the foreskin, which can lead to tearing – although doctors do not know exactly what constitutes phimosis and what is simply an ordinary tension that can be helped by stretching exercises.

Terry Brazier, 70, recently made headlines after going to the Royal Leicester Infirmary for a bladder procedure and having been circumcised by mistake instead. Brazier received a compensation of £ 20,000. In my opinion, after following the same procedure with my consent, it is the right amount of money to do it unnecessarily.

I was not particularly well prepared for my recovery after the surgery. The doctors gave me quick instructions on how to manage the pain, the time to wait before again having sexual contact and when to remove the bandages – but nothing did not provide psychological support to adapt to life with a completely different penis.

To give me an idea of ​​the days and weeks to come, I would have liked to be informed: "Imagine HG Wells' Invisible Man in his bandage mask." A friend was circumcised at age 19 and was remember his own first impression: "The Frankenstein pe. "

Beyond the disturbing visuals, no one has warned me of the terrible pain of sudden tension on my dissolvable stitches, caused by involuntary erections. This finally passed and I was able to adapt to the new situation.

My recovery has been relatively easy, but at worst, the procedure can be painful and traumatic. This year, a 21-year-old man, Curtis, told the BBC that he had developed post-traumatic stress disorder after his injury had been infected as a result of partial circumcision at the BBC. 39, age of seven and a half.

It seems clear that there is not enough preparation or psychological follow-up. Unlike the United States where, according to estimates, 71% of biological men are circumcised, the procedure is relatively rare in Britain. For this reason, circumcision is surrounded by stigma and secrecy, although society is becoming more open to sharing and less likely to shame bodily problems.

And the very positive feedback I have received over the years since the operation has allowed me to know that I had made the right decision.

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