Circumscion

I would be worried about trying to keep his hands off of it while it heals.. Why not wait until he is older and let him decide if he wants it done.. and then will be able to understand what's happening and why and how to care for it..

The little boy next door was done when he was about two. He was running about the same day he came out of hospital and didn't seem troubled by the 'event' at all. His mom said he never cried and she showed me it healed in less than a week like he was done at birth. I don't think he remembers it.

The procedure, no. They'll give him a local anesthetic. But the recovery will hurt, yes. It takes about 10 days for it to heal, so that may be a challenge at 20mos.

But, you should do it if you feel strongly about it.
This is always a hot topic. Do what YOU feel is right for your family.

It hurts no matter when you get it done.

Yes, of course it will. It will be painful at any stage in life even as a newborn. For a toddler, it's common practice to use general anesthesia, but there is post-surgical pain. Be aware that the surgery and the anesthesia come with risks and there is post-operative care that you'll need to do. Is there a reason that you didn't have it done and birth and now want to have it done almost two years later? I didn't opt for this surgery for my son, as the AAP and other pediatric health organizations did not recommend it. I know that there are people who will talk about the minimal health benefits, but the surgery does not imrpove the immediate health of the baby. UTI's are not treated by surgery in girls (my daughter had one, intact son never did), we don't have endemic HIV rates here and have condoms readily available (they are talking about Africa) and I didn't feel any obligation to put my son through surgery to protect future sexual partners. Sorry for the rant.

You do what is right for your family... many have already pointed out that it hurts at any age. My mom knew an adult who was being circumscized and another guy said, "good luck... when I had that done I couldn't walk for a year" hahahahah little penial humor! My son is circumscized.

It is a much more major surgery at that age. It is a totally personal decision - and one that some people feel very passionate about (as you can obviously see). My son was circumcised at 6 months because (and I'm totally going to butcher the explanation on it...lol)...something looked off centered or something? They wanted to watch it grow for a bit and see how it looked? ANYWAY...long story short...even at 6 months they put him completely under. I had to take him to the hospital early...it was like a full on surgery. That being said, I don't remember him being terribly uncomfortable during recovery...It all worked out fine. When it's done when they are newborns it's not near as big of a deal. Another thing you may want to consider - some insurances will not cover it as newborns...MANY insurances will not cover it when they're older. It's much more expensive to do it at this point. Our doctor had to write to the insurance company and explain the medical reasons behind it. They would not have covered it had it just been me being indecisive. Good luck with the decision making!

There will be medication while he is having the procedure. If kept to dr instruction afterwards there may be discomfort like a scab healing and then itching as the skin recovers. Make sure you ask the doctor for complete disclosure and post op instructions before the procedure.

Yes, and he won't understand why he's having it done. Why not wait until he's 5 or 6 and can understand, if you choose to still have it done?

No, our grandson born in Japan had it done about that age or a little older even and he did fine, no issues at all. In Japan they don't do it as you may know. He remembers going for surgery but not much else and he's 16 years old now.

Ok. My sons are not circumcised. Their dad is in tact, so they are in tact also. That is the only reason I didn't circumscise.

Do it for your own reasons, but don't do it to a toddler just "because." It is medically unnecessary, unless he has chronic infections... Yep, he will be in pain for a while. It's not going to be pleasant... Good luck.

D.:

Welcome to mamapedia. Your first post is a hot topic here. You will get all types of answers pro and con.

Talk to the doctor who is going to perform the circumcision...at this age, they might give him a local anesthetic or they may put him under as at 20 months - he may wiggle too much.

In the end - you need to do what is best for your child. If he is having problems - then get it done. don't listen to the women who scream at you to leave him natural and tell you how horrible you are (you will get this). you need to do what you need to do. Talk to the doctor. He/she is the ONLY one who can tell you how the procedure will be done at his age.

As to the pain/hurt? any procedure will cause discomfort.

When I had my oldest son the hospital did not do circumscion. So when he was 2 years old we had it done and he was fine. He ran around the house like he had nothing done at all. He didn't like his underwear to touch it so much so while it was just us home we would cut a hole in the front of his underwear so it wouldn't rub. But that was just for about two days.

He will be much more uncomfortable the older he gets. Don't delay any longer.

He will be ok, he will be much more uncomfortable then babies would be. We had both of our son's done after they were born. My youngest son was born in a South Korean hospital and they wouldn't do it because they don't practice it here. So after he was released I had to fight tooth and nail to get his done at our clinic because the ped. didn't do it after they were 2 weeks old and my son was born 4 weeks early and had to stay in the hospital for two weeks. Finally they did his. You shouldn't have waited if you wanted it done... that's just my opinion though.

I had my sons done at birth, I think both of them cried for a week when they went to the bathroom, or so I thought, don't know for sure. My youngest son had one testicle that didn't drop, so around 2 1/2 he had surgery, they put him under, but he was out-patient. They told me he'd be sore, however, the little one was jumping off the sofa when he got home, less than 12 hours after surgery. His whole package was swollen and black and blue for over a week... but it didn't stop him. He was fine. He doesn't remember anything at all now...