By: Hatim Thaker, MD, FAAP
A penile adhesion is a situation the place the pores and skin of the penis, or the foreskin in uncircumcised boys, sticks to go of the penis. When these adhesions change into dense, they will completely fuse the pores and skin to the pinnacle of the penis. That is known as a pores and skin bridge.
Whereas this isn’t a harmful situation, penile adhesions and pores and skin bridges can typically trigger discomfort and variations in beauty look. Listed here are solutions to widespread questions mother and father might have.
What causes penile adhesions or pores and skin bridges in infants and youngsters?
After a circumcision, any extra foreskin or penile pores and skin might “journey up” alongside the shaft of the penis and get caught to the pinnacle. Equally, if a boy has extra fatty tissue on the base of the penis (or suprapubic area), the pinnacle of the penis can “sink in” and change into surrounded by further pores and skin (typically known as “buried” or hidden penis). In each conditions, there’s a danger of adherence between the 2 pores and skin surfaces.
For
uncircumcised infants, it’s regular that the foreskin doesn’t retract fully to reveal the pinnacle of the penis. Nonetheless, if the foreskin doesn’t change into supple sufficient to fall again naturally, this will likely result in extra troublesome adhesions.
A session along with your pediatrician, or a
pediatric urologist, will help distinguish which circumstances require therapies, and which don’t.
What are the signs of penile adhesions and pores and skin bridges?
This situation sometimes has no signs, although in some instances, the foreskin might change into irritated or infected. In older boys, dense adhesions might trigger discomfort throughout erections.
How do I care for and deal with penile adhesions?
Not all penile adhesions want remedy, as some youngsters might outgrow the situation naturally. If wanted, a topical steroid ointment may be utilized to the adhesions twice day by day for six weeks. This may soften the foreskin to make it simpler to retract the pores and skin and expose the pinnacle of the penis.
Some dense adhesions, particularly pores and skin bridges, might not enhance with topical ointments. These adhesions may be eliminated within the workplace with a topical anesthetic, or within the working room below anesthesia.
Delicate adhesions can grow to be everlasting pores and skin bridges after circumcision. As a guardian, making certain that penile pores and skin doesn’t tether itself to the pinnacle of the penis in the course of the therapeutic course of after circumcision will assist forestall adhesions. This may be accomplished by gently pulling the penile pores and skin down.
As well as, basic penile hygiene is at all times essential. Within the areas beneath the adhesion, useless pores and skin cells can accumulate and type a white paste. That is known as “smegma“. This must be gently wiped away throughout
diaper modifications or cleansed throughout
baths.
Extra info
About Dr. Thaker
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The knowledge contained on this Website shouldn’t be used as an alternative to the medical care and recommendation of your pediatrician. There could also be variations in therapy that your pediatrician might suggest based mostly on particular person information and circumstances.
