Circumcision

[KCAM]

My urologist recommended and I am considering circumcision surgery for a medical condition. I am 57. Has anyone experienced circumcision at 57 or older? If you were circumcised after 57 years of age, how was the post surgery recovery?

KCAM

[stulchinsky]

Hello, this is a forum moderator responding. Although I do not have a direct answer to your question, I would like to refer you to the following physician-developed and -monitored content for additional information:
http://www.urologychannel.com/circumcision/adult.shtml

Thank you for participating in the forum!

[KCAM]

Thanks.

[maus]

I was circumcised at the age of 57. I had constant irritation and my DR recommended the procedure. This was the best thing that has happened to me . I havn"t lost any sensitivity and in fact may have gained some. I also prefer the look of it and find most people in my age group look the same as me. It is also far easier to keep clean. Go for it . The irritation wasn" t caused by me not keeping myself clean.

[patek]

My urologist recommended and I am considering circumcision surgery for a medical condition. I am 57. Has anyone experienced circumcision at 57 or older? If you were circumcised after 57 years of age, how was the post surgery recovery?

KCAM

I'm 53 years old, and 2 weeks into my recovery - it's coming along slowly, slower than I thought.

Prior to the circumcision, for three months, I "trained" my glans by leaving my foreskin retracted all the time. It used to be extremely sensitive, so I had to first start at night, and let the glans get used to my pajamas. Using a local desensitizing cream helped. After a month of this, I started leaving my foreskin pulled back during day time. Again, I started with weekends first, when I was staying at home. This is because, for the first few days, it seemed like I was always walking around with an erection. After a couple of weeks of this, the erections subsided, and my penis generally stayed flaccid. A couple of times a week, I applied a thin coat of vaseline to the glans to manage drying of the skin. After a total of about three months, I couldn't believe how well my exposed glans got used to being exposed. It did create a "turkey neck" kind of distortion to my foreskin, but the key thing was it gave me the confidence to go forward with the procedure. (The "turkey neck" part got solved by the circumcision, any way.)

Long story, but the point of it is that the single biggest problem in adult circumcision is erections that occur due to the glans of the penis being agitated by contact with clothing. Erections strain the sutures, and are very painful. Having the glans of the penis already adjusted to a life after circumcision GREATLY helps.

Erections are also a problem during REM sleep, but there's no way around it. Being 50+ years old helps - erections during REM sleep are not as frequent or powerful as for younger men. But still, keep an ice pack handy at night for a couple of weeks.

Apart from the above, the main recovery is waiting for the wound to heel. Urination was painful for a week - the penis swells up, and I'm told it stays swollen for up to a month. This constricts the urethra, causing painful urination and spraying.

I was on codine for a week, after which I switched to Advil (careful, if you drive). After two weeks, I've stopped the medication, but it's not yet pain free. Started showering after about a week. There's no oozing or bleeding, but there's minute amounts of discharge. I'm on antibiotics - looks like a 3-week course.

I told my coworkers I fell down and sprained my knee, which explained why I was walking rather slowly and apparently limping a little. I'm still not back to my normal walking speed, so I haven't been able to jog or hike.

If you wear briefs, get some boxers, at least for a few months. Wear baggy pants.

Guess that's about all I can think of. I guess I'm still a month away from "normal life", so I'm not exactly sure what lies ahead.

[patek]

Footnote to my previous post:

It's day #30 now after my circumcision. Life is almost back to normal. The swelling has mostly subsided, but the stitches haven't come off yet, because my doctor sealed them off with a ring of glue. This is supposed to keep the stitches together, leading to a cleaner joining of the skin.

The glue is now beginning to wear off, so I assume in the next 1-2 weeks, the stitches will come off, too. No sexual activity until then - still hurts to have an erection - but apart from that, I am more or less back to my routine. Can't wait until all the glue and stitching are completely gone.

So far, zero regrets. The only downside is the 5-6 pounds I've added to my gut from lack of exercise and subdued physical activity, so I have some extra work to do.

In my particular case, I had a very tight foreskin - I could retract it, but it was always very tight. When it was not retracted, my foreskin would hold the glans of my penis tightly compressed, as if I were always wearing a small, tight condom. But if I retracted my foreskin, it would stay behind the corona of my glans, and it would feel like I was wearing a tight rubber band just below my glans. Both were very uncomfortable, and both those feelings are now completely gone.

I should have had this done some 40+ years ago - in my case, it was absolutely necessary.

Oh, well... at least, I'm set for the rest of my life.