Foreskin restoration

I have received emails asking about foreskin restoration and thought it might be a great chance to talk about how some men reverse circumcision.

If you are an Australian man born between 1940 and 1980 there is a high chance of you’re the owner of a circumcised penis. The circumcision rate during this period was more than 70 percent. Australian circumcision rates have dropped dramatically with only 10 – 20 percent of men being circumcised now.

Part of this drop has been due to changes in parental beliefs. Important medical bodies such as the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) have also released policies to help guide medical practitioners and parents on the decision of circumcision.

After reviewing the currently available evidence, the RACP believes that the frequency of diseases modifiable by circumcision, the level of protection offered by circumcision and the complication rates of circumcision do not warrant routine infant circumcision in Australia and New Zealand.

However, it is reasonable for parents to weigh the benefits and risks of circumcision and to make the decision whether or not to circumcise their sons.

Doctors are now coming to understand the role the foreskin plays in protecting the glans during normal day-to-day activity, and enabling ease of movement and increased sensitivity of the penis during intercourse. This has led to many men seeking ways to restore their foreskin.

What options are available for foreskin restoration?

Surgical restoration
In the USA a handful of doctors offer a surgical option for men wishing to reverse circumcision. Using flap and grafting techniques, they claim foreskins can be restored via a two-step procedure. It is very involved, takes three months, is expensive and, perhaps as the final nail in the coffin, your testosterone has to be switched off with medications to prevent erections for three months.

The medical group Doctors Against Circumcision stance on surgical foreskin restoration is:
“Foreskin restoration may be done by surgical grafting of tissue from another part of the body or it may be done by tissue expansion of residual penile skin. Surgical restoration has not proved to be satisfactory and DOC recommends surgical restoration be avoided.
“We recommend stretching techniques, rather than surgery, which may include grafts. Stretching causes permanent tissue expansion gradually over time.”

Stretching the skin of the penis shaft
After circumcision there is a small area of residual foreskin from the edge of the head of the penis to the circumcision scar. This is fairly easy to identify by the change in colour of the skin after the scar. It is this section of skin that is aimed to be stretched.
Creating new skin is a long-term project. Many men have full coverage of the head of the penis after 24 – 30 months of stretching. This said, there are some more aggressive foreskin stretchers who have had good results in shorter time periods.

Foreskin stretching can be as simple as pulling the foreskin over the head of the penis and using tape to keep it in place right though to some interesting devices that are designed to offer tension across the residual foreskin to encourage foreskin stretching.
Depending on how much of this residual foreskin remains, there are many strategies to get started.

There are some key points to remember if you are keen to embark on reverse circumcision. Stretching can be effective, however it is a long-term project. The key is gentle progression.

Overly aggressive stretching of the penis skin can lead to damage and scar tissue formation which will not only slow progress but may also make it impossible to regain your foreskin. If at any point you notice redness, swelling, pain or bleeding, stop and review with your general practitioner.

Potential new treatments for circumcision reversal
I found an interesting article from Intact News, an “intactivism” blog, where they discuss potential new techniques used by plastic surgeons. Vincenzo Aiello, the Italian founder of Foregen, discusses the medical possibilities:

“We have a great doctor here in Rome who regrew the vagina, Dr Cinzia Marchese, who studied at Harvard, and she regrew the internal vagina of 27 women. As we know, the internal vagina is inner mucosal tissue, and that’s what we need to regrow.
“There is also another Italian doctor who regrew the trachea, and it’s also now possible to create any organ, with the proper investment, to have these in a few years, because the technology is already available.”

While I think this is an exciting new area in plastic surgery, I think it may be a long wait before this level of technology is available to the general public.

What results can men get from foreskin restoration?
Many guys happily report that circumcision reversal has helped increase sensitivity, allowed better movement of the penile shaft and increased comfort with intercourse.

Dr Cool on the Foreskin Restoration Forum reports:

“Restoring in my case not only allowed the shaft skin to stretch over the glans when my penis is in a flaccid or erect state and to move over the shaft more easily. It also led to a longer inner mucosa remnant that clearly increased my ability to feel sexual pleasure.”

While foreskin restoration is not quite as perfect as intact men, steady stretching can help restore the advantages of foreskin ownership.

By DR GEORGE FORGAN-SMITH
General Practitioner

The above is an excerpt from Dr George’s blog the healthy bear