What kind of recovery time for my 7 year old son's circumcision???

[erica m]

Hey there...I'm a mother of a 7 year old boy who just had a circumcision on July 5, so he's 4 days post-op now. He had a bad case of Phimosis and needed the surgery, surgery was long at over an hour due to the amount of scar tissue present. He has two rings of stitches, one near the glands and another about 1/2 inch down the shaft. He's been having difficulty with healing so far and is needing dressings 4 times a day now with Fucidin cream - antibiotic. He screams in pain at every dressing change and feels faint every time he urinates. He hasn't been able to wear any boxer shorts or pants since the surgery because he is SUPER sensitive at the head, stitches and glands of his penis. Basically I'm wondering if there is anyone ot there that can give me a ball park time frame to when he will be able to tolerate clothes again and how long he'll be stuck in the lazy boy for....he's driving me crazy!!! I totally understand that it's painful and he's super sensitive but I'm looking for an end to this madness...also the doc said he should shower tomorrow...there's no way he'll get in the shower, the water would hurt him too much....if any body out there has any advice or if there's a similar case out there please reply!!!

[megghead]

Hi Erica i know this was 5 years ago but i have THE EXACT same scenario and im desperate for answers. It has been so traumatic for all of us . He fainted and passed out peeing on day 2 aswell - we had to call an ambulance.  
But in general he's not in pain but sitting on lazy boy without pants or clothes on and out of school for over a week now unexpectedly.  The pamphlets all said back to normal by day 3 but there is no way - it is so sensitive and sore.  Desperate to hear it will be ok soon

[AnnieBrooke]

I don't know how long it takes to heal, but one secret about water and raw skin is that if you use a saline solution and not plain water, it feels much better. The body is so salty that regular water can feel like acid in a cut, but salt water feels OK. One recipe I've seen often is 8 teaspoons of salt to a gallon of distilled water. It can be put into a squirt bottle or peri bottle -- women who have painful parts after childbirth sing the praises of squirting it right on the urethra while peeing. It helps to dilute the urine coming down and prevents the burning.

I hope your son does better soon.

[specialmom]

My son was circumcised later.  He was completely fine within 48 hours! I'm glad his experience wasn't traumatic but hopefully day 3 (after 48 hours) is signficantly better! Anniebrooke gives good advice.  Ibuprofen and tylenol took the edge off for pain.  good luck to your boy

[auntiejessi]

Have you called his doctor? You really should.

[peekawho]

I'd guess a bit sooner than 2 months.  He'll probably be 90% within a month.  

No child should be screaming in pain for any reason.  His doctor needs to be aware of this, and if indifferent to your childs pain, you need to see him face to face and remind him of the patients right to have pain needs adequately addressed.  What is he taking for pain?

Your childs circ is far beyond a normal circ, due to the circumstances.

As for the shower, the cup/bucket idea is good.  You might also try coating the penis very liberally with petroleum jelly to decrease the sting of the water if it does hit it.

No need to rub the jelly off, either.  It will come off on its own, and provide a protective barrier in the meantime.  

[alphaMD]

Sorry Im not sure about the time frame, but you can hold a cup or bucket over his penis while he showers.  If I had to guess I'd say under 2 months, the penis heals quickly.