Phimosis

Phimosis may affect patients in the following ways:

• Phimosis may lead to inaccurate urine stream or urine stream bifurcation, resulting in urine wetting the patient's body, clothing, or the surrounding environment.
• Patients with phimosis usually cannot retract and clean their foreskin and head of the penis. There is often urine and dirt accumulating between the head of the penis and prepuce, resulting in bacterial overgrowth, unpleasant odors, balanitis, posthitis, or even urinary tract infections. Through sexual intercourse, bacteria inside the foreskin can be passed to the patient's female sexual partners, causing vaginitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or urinary tract infections. Conversely, bacteria from female sexual partners can infect patients with phimosis, causing unpleasant odors, balanitis, posthitis, or even urinary tract infections.
• Patients with phimosis often experience easy slippage of condoms or difficulty wearing condoms.
• Phimosis affects ejaculation. The ejaculated semen is usually trapped between the prepuce and the head of the penis, which may affect fertility.
• As the head of the penis in patients with phimosis is nearly always covered by the foreskin, it is usually more sensitive or even hypersensitive compared to normal. This hypersensitivity may result in premature ejaculation once the head of the penis is exposed. After circumcision, when the head of the penis is normally exposed, the skin thickens over time, becoming less sensitive. Circumcision may improve premature ejaculation.
• In pediatric, adolescent, or adult patients with phimosis who cannot retract their foreskin to clean the head of the penis, there is often urine and dirt accumulating between the glans of the penis and prepuce, resulting in bacterial overgrowth, unpleasant odors, balanitis, posthitis, or even urinary tract infections. Repeated infection and inflammation can cause complications such as adhesion, fibrosis, and scarring in the prepuce, head of the penis, or shaft of the penis, affecting urination, growth of the penis, or causing penile shape distortion.
• Patients with phimosis have unusual external sexual features, which may lead to a negative psychological impact.

There are many different sizes and shapes of normal foreskin and normal head of the penis; there are also many diseases affecting the penis. If you have any questions, please consult a surgical specialist with relevant experience for advice.