Circumcision & Preputioplasty
For a genuinely tight or scarred foreskin — and the option that keeps it.
What is Circumcision & Preputioplasty?
Circumcision removes the foreskin. Preputioplasty is a smaller operation that widens a tight ring while keeping the foreskin, and suits selected boys. Which is appropriate is decided by examination.
Hospital stay
Day care.
Performed by
Dr. Pratheep Samraj
- Normal
- The problem
Why It Is Done
Surgery is advised in these situations. The decision is always made after examining your child, never from a description.
- Scarring of the foreskin, particularly the pale firm ring of BXO
- Repeated infections of the foreskin or urinary tract
- Genuinely obstructed urine flow — marked ballooning, straining, dribbling
- A proper course of steroid cream has been tried and has not worked
- An episode of paraphimosis
Before the Day
- Most tight foreskins in young boys are normal and need nothing at all
- Steroid cream for four to eight weeks resolves a large proportion and is usually tried first
- Please do not force the foreskin back — that is a common route to genuine scarring
During the Operation
- General anaesthetic with a block, as a day case
- The foreskin is removed and the edges closed with dissolving stitches, or the tight ring is widened in a preputioplasty
- Around 30 minutes
Afterwards, and at Home
- Home the same day
- Soreness and swelling for about a week; salt-water baths and loose clothing help
- Back to school in about a week
- Dissolving stitches do not need removing
What Can Go Wrong
- Bleeding, which is the main early risk
- Infection
- Narrowing of the urinary opening, more likely where BXO is present
- An unsatisfactory cosmetic result occasionally needing revision
Every operation carries risk. These are listed openly because a parent consenting to surgery is entitled to know them — not because they are expected. The surgeon will go through which of them actually apply to your child.
Common Questions
If your question is not here, send it on WhatsApp and the hospital team will answer.
Dr. Pratheep Samraj
Consultant Paediatric & Neonatal Surgeon · Palliyadi, Kanyakumari
Super-specialist surgical care for newborns, infants and children, with expertise in paediatric urology, congenital anomalies, gastro-intestinal surgery and minimally invasive surgery.
There is an operation that treats the tight foreskin and keeps it.
Preputioplasty suits many boys who have been told they need a circumcision. Ask about it before you agree — and if he has hypospadias, do not circumcise at all: that skin is what the repair uses.
Consultation 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM & 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM · 24-hour laboratory & pharmacy
In an emergency — green vomiting in a baby, a groin swelling that will not go back, severe tummy pain, or a newborn not passing urine or meconium — come straight to the hospital or to your nearest emergency department. Do not wait for a reply to a message.