Sticking foreskin

The foreskin is a circular fold of skin at the head of the penis. In infants and small boys, the foreskin may be stuck to the glans. As the children grow, the foreskin becomes separated. If the foreskin has not separated by the age of three, a visit at a specialist physician's should be considered, so that he/she might assess whether the foreskin should be separated.

Accumulation of smegma , i.e. exfoliated epidermal cells from the surface of the glans and the inner lamella of the foreskin and the secretion from dermal glands in this region, takes place under the foreskin. In case of foreskin sticking, smegma is accumulated in the sulcus of the glans and may be visible as white deposits showing through the skin. If smegma becomes infected, inflammation may develop, manifested by swelling, redness and painfulness of the penis, with pus exudation from beneath the foreskin after 2 days.

Indications for foreskin separation include an inflammatory incident under the foreskin or retaining a sticking foreskin until adolescence. However, in most cases, everyday hygiene with foreskin retraction, nightly erections and penis length enlargement in puberty lead to gradual separation of the foreskin. As some cases do not require surgical treatment, steroid ointments may be helpful in accelerating the spontaneous foreskin separation process. However, if local condition remains unchanged after 3-4 weeks, a paediatrics urologist or a paediatric surgeon performs foreskin separation under local anaesthesia. The procedure is non-invasive and does not require sutures. The only requirements include retracting the foreskin for several following days, maintain its hygiene and use an ointment to separate the foreskin from the gland, thus preventing the recurrence of sticking foreskin.

This problem is often wrongly taken for phimosis, in which scarry contraction of foreskin opening prevents its retraction, and thus daily hygiene. Lack of hygiene leads to recurrent inflammations caused by infections of the deposited smegma and residual urine. Scarry contraction of the foreskin hampers, or even prevents urination. Phimosis is also a cause of penis pain upon erection.

Sticking foreskin separation procedures in the LUX MED Group Hospital are performed by distinguished specialists: Dr Piotr Gastoł, MD, PhD, Dr. Piotr Gastoł MD, PhD, Dr. Jan Gruchalski MD, PhD, Dr. Piotr Szynaka MD, PhD.

For more information call 22 431 20 59 or visit szpital@luxmed.pl .