11 days in - shaft swelling hiding my stitches post-circumcision and still bleeding - is that normal?

[WJKD9989]

Hi all,

I'm new here and it's been 11 days since my circumcision. I've had a pretty easy ride judging by some of the things I've read on here and around. The only thing that is worrying me is that I can't see my stitches.

I've only found pictures of circumcisions with a clear line of stitches below the glands but my shaft skin has swelled and completely covered the stitches (see crappy drawing).

I went to my surgeon on day 7 and he said everything is normal but, when I try (incredibly gently) to pull the skin back, it bleeds a kind of cloudy, diluted blood and there is quite a lot of it. I'd have thought by this stage that would have started to reduce?

Has anyone experienced similar? Any advice?

Got a GP appointment tomorrow but I'm running low on trust and want to get as much opinion as possible.

Thanks

[Ryanr]

Yeah that’s pretty normal if I’m honest I couldn’t see my stitches when I was circumcised for a few weeks also if you’ve had your frenulum removed it usually bleeds for a couple of weeks

[WJKD9989 in reply to Ryanr]

Thanks Ryan. That's really reassuring.

My frenulum is more or less in tact but I guess the whole stitch line could still be quite delicate?

[Ryanr in reply to WJKD9989]

Yes the stitches line is delicate and very sensitive but it heals quite quickly.

[Chan123 in reply to Ryanr]

Hi Ryanr how long before your stitches desolved?

[Ryanr in reply to Chan123]

My stitches took around 8/9 weeks to dissolve but they dissolve depending on how you heal and how quick your body can break the stitches down I believe.

[Ryanr in reply to Ryanr]

Sorry I told you wrong 3/4 weeks they took

[Chan123 in reply to Ryanr]

Thanks. And did the holes where the stitches where, did they heal up ok?

Because I’ve heard that they can leave pretty bad scarring.

[Ryanr in reply to Chan123]

Some have and some haven’t I still have stitch tunnels/holes 7 months later 😂

[Chan123 in reply to Ryanr]

Thanks for the info. Its been 12 days since op, & had infection had to have Biotecs.

[Ryanr in reply to Chan123]

Yeah I had the same problem Aswell did you get prescribed flucloxacillin that seems to clear it up fast and work best. If you need any advice just drop me a message 👍

[Chan123 in reply to Ryanr]

Yea flucloxacillin. The swelling gone down loads, still bleeding, however only slightly.

I’m just a bit reluctant in trying to pull skin down to much to show the stitch line. Did you pull the skin down to expose the cut line, or did you wait for it to show itself?

[WJKD9989]

Quick update - just been to the GP and they've advised going back to the consultant as they would anticipate the amount of bleeding at this stage in the healing process. :S

[ZombyWoof in reply to WJKD9989]

Any update on this?

[WJKD9989 in reply to ZombyWoof]

Had an appointment with my consultant and he said everything was normal.

In the last week or so, the swelling has gone down a lot and, whilst it is still a bit fluid, that’s pretty normal in the first four weeks.

Just wishing the days away now.

[ZombyWoof in reply to WJKD9989]

That's good man, I'm on day 6 and having a similar journey to yours!

[Hidden]

I will second the recommendation of salt. I’ve been using Epsom salt since around day 10, and it’s made marked improvement!

[Kennyldn]

It’s day 4 for me post-op and I have the same swelling and bleeding like you. I cannot see the stitches covered by the swelling near to the intact Frenulum. Just below the frenulum, I see a thick black bit horizontally which looks like stitches or just blood coloured scab?

In terms of bleeding, I get patches of blood from time to time if I pat over the stitched area on the left and right side of the frenulum. The area always look moist and slightly red. If I pat dry with dressing. I see blood. There is no blood on the other side of the head. Is this normal?