It has been 9 weeks since my circumcision and when I get an erection, the length of my penis is about 2 inches shorter than it was before the procedure. I have only regained a small amount of the length I lost, in the last few weeks.
Is this normal? How long does it normally take to get the full length back (I'm not including foreskin in any of these measurements)? I also have a little webbing that occurs during erections which I didn't before. I was afraid my surgeon cut off too much, but I have seen many images of post circumcision photos on surgeons' web pages and mine isn't too far off from what I can tell.
This is very stressful. I would like to get some feedback from those who have experienced the same thing before I go back to my surgeon.
I am getting strong erections, if that helps with the feedback.
Thanks in advance.
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Health56
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Same issue here. I’m about 5 weeks post and have noticed a significant decrease in erect length. Skin from the groin is being pulled forward during the erecting resulting in pubic hair being pulled onto the shaft which I never experienced before. Scrotum is also bring pulled forward during erection? Are you experiencing the same? Let me know how it plays out
Hi. Same here. On further observation I think I was experiencing two things: 1) an optical illusion - so before the circumcision, the length of the penis was one continuous colour (total length). After the circumcision, that colour was changed or shortened by the amount of foreskin removed, playing all kinda tricks on the mind in the early days (perceived shorter penis). 2) penis shyness - remember the boy has gone through a traumatic experience. Like a turtle you have to be patient luring him out. He's just a bit scared to come out now. He will be fine.
It's possible for this to happen with an extreme neonatal circumcision, but I don't see how it could happen with an adult circumcision and certainly not for over an inch difference, as the glans and shaft stay the same. There isn't much you can to make it longer or shorter, even with surgery. If your surgery was only nine weeks ago, there's still time to change too.
Are you measuring your penis now the exact same way you measured it before? You may be measuring from further forward than before, especially if there is any tension around where the the shaft meets your pelvis (you mentioned webbing).
Did you ask for the circumcision to be especially tight?
I'm measuring the exact same way as before. It is difficult to tell at this time if there is tension where the shaft meets the pelvis because when I get an erection, there's still a bit of pain in the area where the surgery was performed, which is the healing that still needs to occur that you mentioned.
I didn't discuss tightness with my surgeon because I didn't know that was a thing. I was under the impression that there was a scientific way of determine how much to remove given that the skin in the area had a name, "foreskin". My surgeon was thorough in explaining the procedure and healing process , but he did not mention a single thing about post-surgery erections and tightness. Unfortunately, I learned about loose and tight, and high and low, after the surgery and now I'm thinking, "what if he made it excessively tight?". I wish I had know there was such a thing, because I would have asked for a somewhat loose result as the difference in size between my erect penis and not erect is quite significant.
Same angle as before.
Hard to explain hardness given the fact that it hasn't fully healed. I guess you could say it is as hard as it can be at this stage. Aside from the pain around the suture site when I have an erection, that is gradually improving over time as things heal on the inside, I would say it's a healthy hardness.
One thing I noticed, the hair that was at the base of my penis is now being pulled forward when I have an erection, so I have more hair around the shaft and I am extremely unhappy about that. Are thing suppose to loosen up? In other words, will that part of the skin move back so that the hairy part isn't so much around the shaft?
I'm experiencing the same thing. 3 and a bit weeks into my recovery and finally worked up the courage to get an erection on purpose to see how it looked and it's about an inch and a half smaller... Worried they've cut too much skin off or something and it's not allowing the full amount of stretching.
I’m one month out today and I’m experiencing the same exact thing. I text my doc and he said that as the skin stretches and softens over time it will go back to normal. I hope he’s correct. I’m 2 inches shorter on erections. Hard to explain but I feel like the skin is stretched to it’s max and holding back the rest of my length. Every time I get a hard on I try to stretch the skin at the base.
I’m about 2 months out now. It’s a little better but nothing like it was. I just try to stretch it as much as I can when I get a hard on. Still about 2 inches shorter than before. It’s still in there but the skin is so tight that it won’t let it stretch out. Not sure if that makes sense or not.
same nightmare here, had surgery (circumcision and frenuloplasty) in mid february and the thing was almost half length than before.. by now already recovered a bit of size but i’d still say 2” smaller than my length before op. also erections are still not 100% hope it gets back to normal soon, as i am very worried about it. doctor said to give it time, but of course he’s not having this issue, it’s me.
Is it true they sell the skin from the circumcision?Seems like they might be cutting off too much on purpose or using a cookie cutter to make them all smaller
Alright, I am 3 months post surgery and I have regained my length by 2 months mark.
Length:
Here is why your length is low in the first place, After a surgery, tissues around the incision site have considerable internal swelling (Not to be confused with visible swelling).
People generally gain some girth during this time. So your length has to compensate for that increase in girth due to internal tissue swelling.
This will generally go back to normal as the swelling subsides over time. These times vary from person to person. For some people, it may take a year. But for most of the people, it'd be around 2-3 months.
Webbing:
This is very normal and this happens when your surgeon took off a little more skin than they should have.
But you don't need to worry about this. Why? Because your skin always stretches to accommodate the new length over time. It should stretch to a new length by 2 months mark. Tight skin is also one of the reasons your penis looks short. Because it constricts the full expansion of your penis.
I had this issue and I was worried about it. My foreskin felt so thin and tight when I had an erection, I couldn't even lift my skin up with my fingers. Guess what? everything went back to normal after a couple of months. Your nocturnal erections will help your skin stretch. And occasional masturbation should speed up this process as well (Don't do anything rough).
The key is to not focus on it every day. I know it's hard to do (at least for the first 2 months), but you got to leave it alone and let your body take care of the healing process.
Many would say it takes at least 6 -9 months for everything to heal and settle down. So patience is your best friend here.
4 weeks mark is the time where your scar gains reasonable strength. And most of the people can resume their sexual activity by 5 weeks mark. So in a way it's true.
But I agree, Most of the doctors don't give enough details.
I think we can extrapolate numbers from testimony here and realize that most complications go unreported since the doctor will just string patients along for 10+ weeks.I think if they fully informed patients, no one would get it unless absolutely necessary.
I would've rather kept trying the cream and learned about skin stretches than being Blindsided by surgery on the 2nd visit.
I have same experience as you surgeon just want money any how he don’t think of loss in life.. if surgeon told everything about disadvantages and all then many of people not doing this if not that much necessary..
I don't think it will stretch back automatically as there is a lot of loose skin in scrotum to accommodate the length and the scrotum with the balls will be pulled up on the ventral side. It's kind of like buried penis. Seems manual streching with methods used for foreskin restoration might help.
I’m 3 years post circumcision and I never regained the 2 inches I lost. It’s made me super insecure but I’ve kind of just accepted it as a way of life now. Wish I never got the circumcision. One of the worst decisions of my life.
Hang in there. It gets better. Whatever recovery or healing time your doctor gave you is probably not the whole picture. Most of the healing will occur in the first 12 weeks. After that, you will see incremental changes for the better. Every time I thought that the healing process was over and it's not going to get any better, I saw more improvement. During that process, my erections didn't feel fully reinstated and they were uncomfortable. But as time went on, even that improved. I would say it took a solid year for me to be able to have a full erection like before where it didn't feel uncomfortable. Be patient, eat healthy, keep hydrated, and think positive. Make sure you're getting enough protein and other nutrients. Shower regularly. Basically, control your controllables and trust your body to the the rest. You'll be fine. And, don't worry about how it looks. You're going to heal.
I think I just replied to your other comment, but just in case here it is again.
Hang in there. It gets better. Whatever recovery or healing time your doctor gave you is probably not the whole picture. Most of the healing will occur in the first 12 weeks. After that, you will see incremental changes for the better. Every time I thought that the healing process was over and it's not going to get any better, I saw more improvement. During that process, my erections didn't feel fully reinstated and they were uncomfortable. But as time went on, even that improved. I would say it took a solid year for me to be able to have a full erection like before where it didn't feel uncomfortable. Be patient, eat healthy, keep hydrated, and think positive. Make sure you're getting enough protein and other nutrients. Shower regularly. Basically, control your controllables and trust your body to the the rest. You'll be fine. And, don't worry about how it looks. You're going to heal.
I first thought that mine was shorter after the circumcision, as well. It took my a while to realize that it used to look bigger because of the foreskin. It was psychological. I was not used to having an uncircumcised penis and psychologically, when I looked at it, I was convinced it was shorter than before. It's not just the flesh that gets cut when they do this procedure. Blood vessels and arteries are cut and removed, as well. It takes a long time for all that to properly heal. Until then, you might experience erections that might not feel fully erect or that the muscles have fully expanded into a full erection. This gets better over time. A time will come when you will have a full, healthy, and strong erection. It may catch you off guard, but you will feel it. It's a great feeling. The skin also needs time to heal and allow for this as it won't reach full elasticity for quite some time.
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