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[chordie]

I see that this forum is adults, though I'm posting this for my infant son, who has a mild congenital curvature (chordee). He was circ. at the hospital, and has a 30 degree or so bend to the left in his glans, at the tip. No hypospadias. A little extra skin. Pediatric urologist said we can leave him alone, but that he can also perform a Nesbit plication, under general anesthesia, and also remove the extra skin. Size will be shortened. Did not push us to do the procedure at all, but recommended that if we decide to do it, better to do it while he is still a baby (under 2) as it will be less traumatic because he will not remember anything and would not even be potty trained yet.

Since the procedure is not medically necessary, my wife and I are inclined not to do it. We are not thrilled about anesthesia or any other possible complications. We have an appointment with another Dr., the chief of pediatric urology at our local children's hospital for a second opinion.

It's difficult for me as his father to decide. What worries me is that he may have self esteem issues in the future due to the curvature of his penis. I'd like to hear some thoughts on the risks vs benefits of doing the procedure, and also whether is possible to have satisfactory sexual activity with such a bend.
Thanks,

[MattFoley]

This a tough place to be in as the father.

I would think there are a great many questions that would need to be addressed before proceeding.

First of all I would be concerned having such major surgery at such a young age. There's always risks with anesthesia and I would imagine that there would be greater concerns with an infant.

Can the curve improve with time? Perhaps by the time it becomes more apparent, would there be a better procedure to deal with the issue?

A Nesbit plication is by no means a simple surgery. There's a risk of permanent Erectile Dysfunction or nerve damage.

Just for a moment, pretending I'm in your place and with the info I currently have, I would not agree to it.

Either way, you have my heartfelt warmest wishes and hope for healing for your son.

[Mentos]

I would not go forward with surgery. You never know what will come to be by the time your son is in his teens. May be far better treatments or at least techniques to surgery. In the end I would say dont do it and give your son the chance to make the decision himself. If something were to go wrong he may be very upset you took thisndecision out of his hands. Just my thoughts

[Skjaldborg]

Hi Chordie,

I also suggest not going forward with surgery now. I second Mentos's point about surgical improvements that may occur by the time your son hits puberty/adulthood as well as the fact that puberty itself may correct it. Also, general anesthesia always carries risks.

I saw a quote the other day that said, "worrying about something is like paying interest on a debt you don't have." Enjoy watching your son grow up, get some rest and move on. Only take action on this problem if there is an infection on the skin or severe problems with urination (frequent urinary infections, etc.).

Good luck and congrats on the new baby!

-Skjald

[BentYoung]

I would agree with everyone on not moving forward with the surgery at this time. I am trying to put myself in your son's position at my age (28) and I would be upset had my father made that decision for me. Plus surgery now may change natural growth for him in these really important years ahead. Best of luck!

[LWillisjr]

I know several men with a 30 degree congenital curve and have no problem with sex or intercourse. I absolutely would not do it at this point in time as others have suggested.

[Thisismyusername]

In general I do not think surgery for congenital curvature is a good idea except in extreme circumstances.  As long as the penis functions well and the curve isn't so severe as to prevent sexual intercourse it is not worth the risks and potential complications in my opinion. 

I especially don't think you should have your son undergo this procedure when he is so young that he can not make the decision for himself.  If something goes wrong and it impacts his erectile functioning you will probably never forgive yourself and he may never forgive you.  Lots of men have natural curved penises.  It's best to not worry about it and only deal with it if it turns out to be a real problem.  That is something that he can decide on his own when he is an adult. 

[TheTreee]

Unlike most of the men here, I have a congenital curvature of the penis of approximately 35 degrees to the left, and have had this curvature my entire life. You mentioned that your son's curve was on the glans, while mine is along the length of my entire penis. Mine's shaped kind of like a curved banana.

I can tell you that having a misshapen penis can be a burden that you carry with you a lot of the time. As a young teen, entering puberty was difficult for me as I was curved and a late bloomer. My standard bedtime prayer for quite a while was to grow big, straight, and strong.

Fortunately, my penis functions well, and my curve doesn't prevent me from intercourse, though a couple of positions are off limits. I found a great wife who doesn't mind my curve, and life is good. But I have to admit that showing my tool to new partners was very nerve wracking, and I suspect I've lacked some confidence in my life knowing I was misshapen.

As far as advice, knowing where I am and where I've come from, I'd agree with the responses you've received so far to wait on the surgery. It's not going to be a real issue until your son reaches puberty, and who knows what type of advances will be made in surgical procedures in the next decade. Also, I'd hate for anything to go wrong working on such a tiny canvas. I'd also hate too think that anything you do now might affect size and length in the future. I'm not a doctor, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. But you might want to wait until he's older and bigger. Maybe some of the curve will correct itself over time? If not, maybe you could wait until he's done growing, then throw in a few plication sutures without degloving, a la the PSP Penoscrotal Plication procedure that Norm just underwent. And who knows what other minimally invasive procedures they'll invent in the meantime. The Nesbit procedure seems brutal and is frightening to me, especially when you have to mobilize the neurovascular bundle and deglove the penis.

Fortunately for your son, you are aware of his condition. No one in my family knew (our knows now), and I had no idea that corrective surgery was an option. Had I known, I'm not sure what I would have done, but it would have been nice to know there were options. So if you don't do the surgery now, let him know that it's something he can correct if and when he wants to. That's what I'd suggest.

It's a tough spot for a dad to be in. Good luck in making your decision.

[unsureincognito]

TheTree exactly the same situation here had this all my life primarily down 30 degrees and 5 degrees (negligible) to the left, also like a curved banana, what we have is a bit uncommon.

To the OP, it is a difficult situation to be in, one of those situations where if it isn't corrected now and it gets worse as he gets older, likely he'll be posting on this forum or looking through google like I did in 17 years time... by that time, actually perhaps new treatments short of surgery will be invented, and getting surgery later in life fully aware you are going under will never be pleasant, but at a very young age there are more medical risks.

If you do get it "corrected" now, if would be a case of never knew never known, it won't be a problem later in life although there is a chance of loss of length (I think, less so if it's corrected early before puberty), save any trouble in the future. If my own parents/doctors noticed this and I had it corrected, well again I never would have suspected this was even a real thing and I wouldn't be bothered by it later in life, a part of me wish they did but the risks and choosing a good anesthetist, as well as the pre-agreed arrangement not to have circumcision (something I learnt from a uro is that many folks who are circumcised probably had curvatures anyway, depending on the country/state. I bring up circumcision because even though it's a touchy subject many guys don't want to have butchered foreskin when they get older, so caution for that.

I don't think an outward self-conscious thing is too much trouble I don't think potential future partners or whatever will really care but I can attest to the (self)-esteem thing, or if any person in this situation accepts the fault, in my case from memory it may have gotten slightly worse (developed, more so) mid-pubery but did not get worse after that.

As for my opinion, seeming prudent, I would only go for the surgery if you have an excellent uro/anesthetist that has had great success rates, elsewise, I am actually avoid surgery and let nature take it's course so to speak, they do have extenders these days and the future (2030+) there will be more treatment options, If it's over 30 degrees 'encounters' will be physically difficult.  gl.
edit: I see this is an older post, wonder how everyone got on.