Plastic surgery abroad - Latvia

Male circumcision is the removal of some or all of the foreskin (prepuce) from the penis. Most circumcisions are performed during adolescence for cultural or religious reasons, in some countries they are more commonly performed during infancy.
Advantages of circumcision:

• makes simpler keeping good hygiene
• saves from painful erection
• can help avoid diseases, such as infections in urinary tract, penis cancer and risk of sexually transmitted diseases
• helps to avoid risks of infections in warm and humid environment

Reasons to make penis circumcision

• medical (e.g. phimosis, paraphimosis, the foreskin is too long etc.)
• * religious
• * social
• * personal
• * hygiene reasons

Phimosis means that the foreskin is unusually tight and cannot be drawn back from the head of the penis. The too tight foreskin can cause painful erections and intercourse. Inflammations are also more likely to occur with foreskin.
Paraphimosis is a medical condition in which case the foreskin becomes trapped behind the glans, and cannot be pulled back to its normal flaccid position covering the glans. Paraphimosis should be treated as a medical emergency, as it can result in gangrene or other serious complications, most commonly just in inflamed, sore and red penis head. Repeated inflammations of the penis and foreskin or tears in the skin are less common reasons for seeing a surgeon.

Excess of foreskin may also cause discomfort during sexual intercourse (using a condom) or just does not look attractive, and can be a reason for circumcision.

Men working in warm airless conditions have a risk of getting infections under the foreskin caused by smegma and may need to make circumcision. Smegma is a white cream-like substance that has an unpleasant odour and is formed between the foreskin and the glans.

Before you decide to undergo circumcision , you should make sure you are aware of all the risks and possible alternatives, because the foreskin is a part of your body with its own functions by nature.

How penis circumcision works

The circumcision surgery is rather simple and short in time. Genitals are first cleaned with an antiseptic. Complete shaving is not recommended as it increases the risk of infection, but the need may arise to trim the pubic area slightly. Generally the circumcision is performed under local anesthesia with an analgesic injection that is made into the nerves on the back of the penis.

• when the penis has become numb, the foreskin is gently separated from the penis stem

• the foreskin is pulled over the glans, fastened with special forceps
• the redundant foreskin is partly or wholly cut off with a scalpel
• the wound is sewn up after the removal of the foreskin

There are some ways to make circumcision:

• minimal (the foreskin is shortened slightly to enable its movement over the glans; the penis remains functionally and cosmetically uncircumcised)
• partial (the glans is partly uncovered by the foreskin when the penis is slack)
• extensive (the glans is mostly uncovered, but sometimes partly covered with the foreskin; the skin is not too tight and enables some moving in the erectile state)
• medium (most prevalent style, in which case the glans is never covered with the foreskin)
• narrow (the penis stem has little or no free skin, so the glans is protrusive and easily traceable).

Circumcision risks

Complications of circumcision are rare and could include hematoma or hemorrhage, bleeding and inflammation, but these complications are avoidable or minimal. Some men have experienced a change in the sensitiveness of their penis, it may have gained or lost sensitivity. The result is that achieving ejaculation might take longer. But it is good news to those men who were suffering from premature ejaculation.
Pre-surgery and post-surgery advice

To avoid risks, patient must provide the surgeon with medical history, inform about allergies,and chronic diseases like diabetes.

After the operation

Operated area will be inflamed and bruised after the surgery, but this improve within a week or two. It may be necessary to take painkillers during the first few days after the surgery. In case of bleeding (can happen within 24 hours after the surgery) a sterile bandage should be applied to the scar for about 10 minutes. Patient should wear comfortable and loose (not too tight) underwear and clothes after the surgery, so that you wouldn't cause any traumas to the area that was operated on.

During the recovery period (in average 3 weeks) you should avoid sporting and to some extent sexual activities, because erection can be painful and cause the sutures to break unless absorbable sutures are used. The stitches will be removed usually in 2 weeks.

Taking care of penis

One should always take care of this part of a body; in case the foreskin is too tight (phimosis), it hinders the washing and that can lead to inflamed foreskin due to bacteria that might grow there if you don't wash it often enough.

Circumcision can, therefore, be a solution for maintaining perfect hygiene. However, until the boy is 3-years-old it is impossible to clean the under-foreskin area due to the condition called physical phimosis, which will withdraw usually when the child has reached school age. The foreskin should never be pulled back forcibly.
If it is hard or impossible to draw the foreskin back from the head of the penis, it is definitely necessary to visit a doctor.

The head of the penis can be more sensitive after removing the foreskin, but this will decrease in time, since the glans will become thicker to protect it from rubbing and irritations, therefore it might take longer to ejaculate than before. disadvantages before having circumcision.