Male circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin around the head of the penis. While this may seem a taboo practice, there is a large proportion of the population who has had it done. In the US alone, over 60% of the population ends up having circumcisions at some point in their life. While this figure seems high, it was once at a peak of 85% in the 70?s.
So what is the foreskin for? Why do males have one? Well, it generally acts as a protection for wear and tear against the sensitive penis glans (head). It also protects the glans from any irritation for babies and it also contains erogenous tissue and lubrication which contributes to sexual arousal.
So with all these benefits, why is it people remove it? Well the main cause is due to medical reasons. In birth, babies are born with naturally tight foreskins and over the years of puberty it is meant to loosen out so by the age of 18, it can be fully retractable. In some cases, the foreskin can remain too tight to pull back. The medical term for this is Phimosis. While there are other surgical operations to cure this including stretching the foreskin and reshaping of the prepuce to make it wide, sometimes circumcision is the only effective method. If not, it can prove near impossible to wash the glans, resulting in an infection called Balantis. This normally can be identified by red tender areas on the glans and can cause irritation, tenderness, impotence and swelling. Other conditions are that it can become so tight that it makes it painful and sometimes impossible to urinate or have sex.
Yet there are actual benefits to have a circumcision. Men who have been circumcised tend to contract fewer urinary tract infections. It also offers some defense against sexual transmitted diseases as it?s easier to wash the bacteria away before it does any damage. While only very small, there is evidence that it can reduce the risk of penile cancer, which on its own is incredibly rare.
It is also possible to have the foreskin reconstructed. While it may seem a bit odd to have the foreskin removed, and then reconstructed, some males who may have had it either removed at birth, or for medical reasons, want it back. There are surgical and non-surgical methods for doing this.
The surgical method involves taking skin from either the penis or another part of your body, and grafting it onto the glans. Yet people rarely go for the surgical reconstruction, as it can prove to be painful and complications can occur. This is why people normally choose the non-surgical option. This involves stretching what is left of the foreskin with either weights or a traction device. This causes the foreskin to grow as its having to create new cells to fill in the gaps.
However, in both cases it is impossible to completely restore the foreskin. There are nerve endings and blood vessels that contribute to sexual feelings which can never fully be replaced, although partial replacement is doable.
