Questions about the scar left from being circumcised as a child

[Typographic]

Hello everyone. I was a lurker on the old forum (never made a post, just searched to answer my questions) and have been restoring with a DTR now off and on for a little less than a year.

I was circumcised as a child, I believe around 4 or 5 years old. It had to have happened in the early 90s. I am in my late twenties now.

I recall the dissolvable stitches, not being able to wear underwear or even pants as I went to a home daycare (I recall this vividly for some reason), and having to lie on the couch with a sheet over my lower half like a tent. The bubblegum flavored gas they used to put me under before the operation is something else burned into my memory.

Anyways, I am wondering where on the new forum I should post images of my scar to get some opinions about what method was used on me, how severe it is, and what I should do. It seems like only the Progress section is for members-only, and I would rather my photos stay somewhat private.

On one side it appears like I have quite noticeable skin tags or even warts due to the stitches. The scar starts about half an inch below the corona of the glans on the dorsal side, but no inner foreskin left on the other side. My frenulum was cut and I think somehow diverted along the scar. There is one instance of tunneling (a hole left over from a stitch/suture) that I also wish to deal with, because filth gets caught in that tiny skin tunnel.

I am considering plastic surgery to excise the "skin tags" left by the old circumcision at the very least, or to have some kind of scar revision. The appearance of the scar and the skin bumps/tags bothers me a great deal, almost as much as the knowledge that my foreskin was removed before I knew anything about my body.

The whole thing has given me extreme trust issues when encountering doctors; I realize the irony in considering plastic surgery to fix a problem given to me against my will.

Functionally, I am great. But I know sensations could be better (sometimes the skin protruding from the scar can feel raw if I have sex or masturbate for long sessions or multiple times in a day). My sexual partners have said they are not disturbed by the scar/lumps, and I feel like a basket case whenever I bring it up with someone I am intimate with. Recently I tried to get some information from my mother about why the procedure was done to me, but her answers were vague and I did not feel comfortable pressing her about it; I am quite sure some doctor convinced her that I needed it or something.

I want to restore in earnest but the way my scar is gets me down so damn much at times. I worry about putting off a revision or reduction until I get too old or something. I have this feeling that further restoring will not minimize the scarring that I have, so perhaps it is better to deal with this now, and be a little more happier with what I have. But I know "more cutting" is highly discouraged here, and I agree, but perhaps there is a minimal procedure to remove the skin tags and the tunnel at the very least.

Thanks for reading.

TL;DR Where can I post photos to get some opinions about what to do with skin tags/an ugly scar left over from an old circumcision?

[RAnonUS19B]

(Deleted)

[Typographic]

Yes, there is one instance of tunneling unfortunately. I am going for a consultation with a surgeon on the 27th. The receptionist told me that scar revisions/reductions typically have a price range between $600 and $1500 at this particular office in the United States, and it is possible certain insurance providers could cover some or all of the cost. It will ultimately come down to what the surgeon says.

Plastic surgery was recommended and referred by my dermatologist, and from the worryingly few things I could find to read about this subject (that is, skin tags/lumps along a circumcision scar and what to do about it). Supposedly there are urologists out there that may care just as much about aesthetics, I have no referrals, though I will try to seek one out near me.

[Science Monk]

There are galleries of botched circumcisions posted to the web at circumstitions.com. They should help you better evaluate your own situation. They will also give you some points of reference for any further discussion of your case.

Oddly, some of the photos in the botched galleries were originally obtained as pin-ups of male genitalia directed at gay male audiences - as objects of male beauty !

http://www.circumstitions.com/Botched.html

David
World As Monkey Island

[Swingshiftworker]

There are galleries of botched circumcisions posted to the web at circumstitions.com. <snip> Oddly, some of the photos in the botched galleries were originally obtained as pin-ups of male genitalia directed at gay male audiences - as objects of male beauty !

http://www.circumstitions.com/Botched.html

David
World As Monkey Island

OMG!!! RU serious? Some of the pics were "directed at gay male audiences -- as objects of male beauty"???

We'll, I'm bi and I think those pics were ghastly!!! Best advertising AGAINST circumcision that I could think of. They should be more widely distributed to warn parents of the risks so they that don't even think of doing them anymore.

[Typographic]

Thanks for the link, Science Monk, though I have looked through those galleries many times. I do know that I have odd scarring, skin tags, a cut frenulum, and found the term "tunneling" somewhere else on the internet. The mutilation was not performed on me as an infant but as a child. I still have vague memories of it all and it kind of haunts me. I want to say the procedure was probably not a newer one.

Should I post my photos in the Progress gallery any way? I've made minimal progress with restoration since I have not kept to a rigorous schedule, but there is a difference I can describe at least. I am mostly curious to know what kind of circumcision was performed on me and if it looks as bad as I think. Honest opinions.

Those I've been intimate with have all said it does not bother them, but I am convinced it might, either during oral sex (can't imagine anyone wanting such a texture in their mouth), or if things get a little dry (then it is uncomfortable for either party). Or just the aesthetics of it. This is weird to write out but it is what I think.

edit: I should also add, I worry about getting the skin tags excised causing me to feel less. I cannot be completely sure if these skin tags have some heightened feeling, some remnants of my foreskin or nerves, or if it is all in my head (pun possibly intended). It is nauseating to think about.

[greg_b]

Without photos, it is hard to make specific suggestions. But I can offer that my scar has become so difficult to see with restoration that I can no longer use it to align tape. While that is not your issue, and I do not remember anyone describing changes in skin tags with restoration, I thought it might be worth mentioning.

Best Wishes

[Science Monk]

Should I post my photos in the Progress gallery any way? I've made minimal progress with restoration since I have not kept to a rigorous schedule, but there is a difference I can describe at least. I am mostly curious to know what kind of circumcision was performed on me and if it looks as bad as I think. Honest opinions.

I just sent admin a PM (Personal Message), giving him a heads-up on your desire to have a Progress Gallery created for you.
Watch your PM alerts, but give him time to reply. Our fearless leader is probably tuckered out right now, having recently returned from Intactivist Karaoke Night in Indianapolis and marching in the Pride Day Parade in Milwaukee.

David
World As Monkey Island

[Science Monk]

Thanks for the link, Science Monk, though I have looked through those galleries many times. I do know that I have odd scarring, skin tags, a cut frenulum, and found the term "tunneling" somewhere else on the internet.

By "tunneling," perhaps you mean "stitch tunnels" where the stitches once were? The presence of stitch tunnels almost always indicates that a freehand method of circumcision was used.

David
World As Monkey island

[Typographic]

Thank you so much for your replies, Greg and David. And thank you for contacting the admin regarding the creation of a gallery. I will make sure to read more around the new forums soon.

I do mean a stitch tunnel, yes. A freehand method makes the most sense. I have no idea why that was chosen, and really no solid idea why it was done in the first place. Maybe I will try to have a civil conversation about it with my mother one day. The last time I brought any of this up, I was quite angry, having learned that my infant nephew had an operation to correct penile torsion which apparently "included" a circumcision. I was sort of in disbelief and still don't understand what to think about it.

All I know is that I want to change myself in some way for the better, and that I will never allow such a heinous thing to happen to a future son of my own.

[Science Monk]

The mutilation was not performed on me as an infant but as a child. I still have vague memories of it all and it kind of haunts me.

Circumcisions done in one's early formative years do have a way of haunting an individual. Years ago, we had a man at NORM-Michigan - a professional firefighter - who had his circ done at 2 1/2 years of age. He was not cut at birth because he was a premature infant, but a doctor prevailed upon his parents to have the procedure done when they brought him in for a routine visit when he was 2 1/2. He said he had vivid memories of being wheeled down the hospital corridor on a gurney, the anesthetic mask being placed over his nose and mouth, the pain upon awaking, and the long recovery period.

David
World As Monkey Island

[OzVic]

Sounds like incorrectly diagnosed phimosis as doctors in the US did not understand normal foreskin development (maybe some did) but they used it as an excuse to make money circumcising infants and young boys by convincing the parents of this non existent problem or actually causing it by forcefully pulling it back.
It doesn't separate till well into teens in some cases.
What a racket $ they had and still have going until they are all educated - or better yet educate parents about a natural penis and foreskin.