Penile adhesions in children

Penile glans adhesion is a common symptom in children. The incidence rate of this disease is about 30%. It can cause inflammation of the glans, itching and decreased sensitivity of the glans. Therefore, when a child has penile glans adhesion, the foreskin can be expanded to turn the glans upward, and attention should be paid to the disinfection of the glans. It is best to choose a glans circumcision to remove excess glans scalp, and then adjust the baby's diet.

1. If there is no adhesion, manual treatment can be used. After disinfection, 2% dicaine is used for anesthesia. The foreskin opening is expanded until the glans can be turned up. The glans may be swollen within a few days after separation, which can be eliminated by soaking in warm salt water. If adhesion recurs, the same method can be used for brief treatment. This non-surgical treatment does not cause bleeding, infection, or need for suture removal, so it is easy for the child and his family to accept.

2. When the glans adhesion is serious, glans circumcision can be used for treatment. It is mostly due to the adhesion of the inner plate of the glans skin to the coronal sulcus and glans. This is the result of repeated attacks of balanitis. The inflammation causes a large amount of inflammatory exudate, which causes adhesion after absorption. The surgery needs to be carefully separated, otherwise the glans appearance may change. Some patients will have different shades of pigment on the glans skin after the separation surgery, and there will be spots.

3. Treatment of adhesion between the foreskin and glans can be performed at various ages of children, such as newborns and infants (<1 year old), toddlers (1-3 years old), preschoolers (3-7 years old), and schoolers (7-15 years old). For example, some babies have no urine for two or three days after birth, and the foreskin opening is like a pinhole, accompanied by lipid debris. After the foreskin expands, the debris is peeled off, and urination is smooth after flushing. Some children also develop smegma due to phimosis, forming one or more nodules under the skin of the glans, which are soft or hard, with no local redness, swelling or exudation. When urinating, the glans cavity is filled like a ball, and the smegma is dilated, separated and peeled off. After removing the smegma, sometimes the glans penis can be seen to be pale and uneven where the smegma is pressed, and the development of the glans is often restricted.

The following is a detailed introduction by the editor on several methods of dealing with glans adhesions. Since glans adhesions may cause great harm to future children, it is recommended that parents and friends go to a regular hospital for glans separation surgery if they find that their children have some glans adhesions.

The harm of foreskin

(I) Harm to the baby itself

1. Phimosis causes difficulty in urination. Urine accumulates in the foreskin, causing it to swell. The salt in the urine and the secretions of the sebaceous glands in the foreskin will condense into small white lumps, which feel hard to the touch and often cause pain and itching.

2. Phimosis in children will restrict the development of the penis and glans. When the penis is erect, the elongation of the penis will also be restricted. If surgery is not performed in childhood, the development of the penis may be affected.

3. According to statistics, children with phimosis are more likely to develop penile cancer than those without phimosis.

4. Due to bacterial infection, balanitis causes edema of the glans penis and balanitis with purulent secretions. Repeated attacks may cause scarring at the foreskin opening in children.