Circumcision
Potential benefits
- There are no absolute medical indications for circumcision
- Cancer: penile cancer extremely rare in men after neonatal circumcision
- UTI: 20x increased risk, but requires 85-111 boys get circumcised to prevent 1 UTI
- HIV: reported benefits in subSaharan Africa, questionable benefit in US/Europe
- Hygiene: prevents phimosis, balanitis
Contraindications
- Do not perform if foreskin will be needed for future reconstructive procedures - hypospadias, chordee, buried/webbed penis
- Delay if concern for coagulopathy or other more urgent medical issues
Complications
- Bleeding: 0.1%, usually from a frenular blood vessel, can treat with silver nitrate or suture
- Wound infection: rare, can prophylactically treat with bacitracin
- Skin dehiscence: rare, self-resolves with shaft epithelization, does not require repair
- Skin abnormalities: rare, requires repair under general anesthesia
- Scarring: treat with 0.05% betamethasone + retraction, improves scar in 79%
- Skin bridges: common (more with younger age), lyse in clinic (with EMLA) or OR (may require suturing), do not resolve with steroids alone
- Inclusion cysts: uncommon, due to trapped epithelial tissue under scar, can use steroid cream to thin the skin or drain with small incision
- Meatal stenosis: common after circumcision, may present with upward or narrow stream, treat with meatotomy or meatoplasty, can use fine suture to reduce risk of recurrence
- Glans amputation: rare, repair via primary reanastomosis without microscopic repair, good results if performed within 8 hours
- Necrosis: prevent by avoiding thermal injury from cautery
- Fistula: rare, can occur if injury to urethra occurs
Postoperative care
- Depending on patient age and habitus, may benefit from gently retracting shaft skin to prevent adhesions
- Usually dressing can be removed after 24hr, may benefit from applying bacitracin or vaseline to incision
- Usually avoid physical activity for 2-3 weeks, avoid sexual activity for 6 weeks
Adult OR technique
- Place patient supine, prep/drape (clean under foreskin), give cefazolin for skin flora
- Give dorsal penile and ring block
- Place glans traction stitch with 2-0 silk (place deep to avoid tearing)
- Mark distal and proximal incisions, ensure adequate length by tensioning skin at base
- Gently incise skin with #15 scalpel, make sure skin separates but do not go through underlying layers
- Place mosquito snaps x4 on dorsal skin, then create tunnel with metzenbaum scissors and incise skin to create flaps
- Completely excise skin off penis with electrocautery, taking care not to cauterize remaining penile skin or shaft, send skin for specimen if needed
- Obtain hemostasis with point cautery
- Reapproximate frenulum with U-stitch (can use chromic or monocryl)
- Place stitches at 6, then 3 and 9 o'clock
- Close remaining skin edges with either simple or horizontal mattress interrupted
- Apply bacitracin, telfa, and coban dressing
Gomco technique
- Place on circumcision board
- Inject ~5mL 1% lidocaine as dorsal penile block, sit for 5 minutes
- Dilate phimotic ring with hemostat
- Crush foreskin at 12 o'clock position then cut to expose glans
- Remove all smegma and adhesions to fully expose glans
- Place hemostat x2 on the corners of the cut foreskin and place bell within foreskin on top of glans
- Place outer device over foreskin, grasp corners with new hemostat to bring the foreskin up and through device
- Confirm adequate and even position of Gomco device prior to tightening
- Leave for 5 minutes after tightening, can cut off foreskin at any time
- After 5 minutes, remove device and gently push edges off bell to expose penis
- Apply bacitracin and dressing
Pediatric OR technique #1
- Supine positioning
- Take down adhesions with a snap and sponge, sterilize with betadyne
- Demarcate proximal border, make incision w/ #15 scalpel
- Demarcate distal border, make incision w/ #15 scalpel
- Use 4 snaps to grap foreskin at dorsal aspect
- Spread with tenotomy scissors, cut at dorsal aspect
- Remove foreskin with cautery, discard unless abnormal appearing
- Obtain hemostasis of any active or potential bleeding
- Place two 5-0 stitches at ventral portion
- Reapproximate frenulum if necessary with simple interrupted
- Suture subcutaneous at 12 o’clock with 6-0, then perform running subcuticular dorsal to ventral, perform on either side
- At ventral portion, put stitch through skin, then go back through skin again and tie to loop
- Place mastisol, telfa strip, and tegaderm with cut on ventral then dorsal portion
- Cover with bacitracin
- Send home with tylenol, ibuprofen, and bacitracin
Pediatric OR technique #2
- Supine positioning
- Take down adhesions, sterilize with betadyne
- Demarcate proximal border, make incision w/ #15 scalpel
- Demarcate distal border, make incision w/ #15 scalpel
- Use 4 snaps to grap foreskin at dorsal aspect
- Spread with tenotomy scissors, cut at dorsal aspect
- Remove foreskin with cautery, discard unless abnormal appearing
- Obtain hemostasis of any active or potential bleeding
- Place 12 6-0 chromic stitches simple interrupted
- Place mastisol, telfa strip, and tegaderm with cut on ventral then dorsal portion
- Send home with tylenol and ibuprofen
Pediatric OR technique #3
- Supine positioning
- Take down adhesions, no betadyne
- Place 5-0 prolene stitch in glans for positioning
- Demarcate borders, incise with electrocautery on cut (or coag)
- Use 4 snaps to grap foreskin at dorsal aspect, spread with tenotomy scissors, cut at dorsal aspect
- Can also just cut through foreskin and take down in parts
- Remove foreskin with cautery, discard unless abnormal appearing
- Obtain hemostasis of any active or potential bleeding
- Place 12 o’clock stitch and 6 o’clock stitch and hold on with snaps (5-0 fast gut)
- Place 8 stitches total with 5-0 fast gut
- Place dermabond
- Send home with tylenol and ibuprofen
Dorsal Slit at bedside
- Perform dorsal penile and ring block, prep/drape
- Crush preputial skin at 12 o'clock with straight hemostat then incise - take care not to insert hemostat into meatus!
- If necessary, retract skin and continue to crush/cut until glans of penis completely exposed
- Suture edges with 3-0 or 4-0 chromic as running or interrupted stitch to provide hemostasis
Phalloplasty (for buried penis)
- Prep/drape, perform dorsal penile and ring blocks
- Take down all adhesions and clean smegma to visualize entire penis, then place 4-0 ethibond traction stitch
- Demarcate the inner preputial incision by drawing a circumferential line, then incise with #15 scalpel
- Deglove the penis down to the base, exposing edges and using cautery or tenotomy to cut attachments
- Assess where skin will comfortably lie on the shaft, then cut the dorsal skin at 12 o'clock with tenotomy until a point where it will come together with the glans edge
- Place fixation sutures at 12, 5, and 7 o'clock to fix shaft skin to penile base, bury the knots, use 5-0 PDS (or similar suture)
- Wrap dorsal skin flaps around ventrally for coverage and excise the excess tissue
- Realign ventrally, recreate frenulum and raphe as needed to bring skin together without tension
- Bring circumcising incision together through desired technique (running/interrupted)
- Apply dermabond and dressing, remove traction stitch