In the general public’s mind, circumcision is just a very common minor surgery, but once handled carelessly, it can lead to many sequelae and even cause a lifetime of regret for men!
There was a thirty-year-old young man who underwent circumcision, but two weeks after the operation, he found persistent numbness on the right side of his penis and a cold sensation on his glans, and even his erectile function was affected, presumably due to damage to the nervous system of the penis during the operation.
When performing the surgery, if the cut is too deep, the dorsal nerve plexus of the penis may be injured, so it is best to remove only a thin layer of the epidermis to avoid damaging other tissues.
Another commonly overlooked but possibly major cause of dorsal plexus damage is the excessive use of electrocoagulation to stop bleeding. If the damage is mild, the nerves may recover on their own, but if the damage is severe, it will cause abnormal nerve sensation and erectile dysfunction. In addition to the possibility of nerve injury leading to impotence, electrocoagulation can also increase the chance of wound infection. Many medical literature reports have pointed out that when using electrocautery, local tissues are damaged and this burnt area, which is less resistant to bacteria, is more prone to wound inflammation and infection and related complications. Try not to use electrocautery during the procedure, preferring to use thin wire tying to stop the bleeding, which is safer and has fewer sequelae.