Don’t treat occult penis as prepuce

  Prepuce is a common pediatric surgical condition that manifests itself as a narrow foreskin opening, with the foreskin wrapped tightly around the glans and unable to flip upward, thus preventing the glans from being exposed. In some boys, the penis looks short from the outside and the glans cannot be exposed, which is often misdiagnosed as prepuce, but in fact it is occult penis. The concealed penis is a congenital abnormality caused by the abnormal development of the flesh membrane under the skin of the penis.  The flesh membrane of the penis becomes inelastic, thickened fibrous fascia, and in some cases, cords are formed. These abnormal fascias and cords are mostly located at the proximal and base of the penis, and in severe cases, they may grow distally to the coronal sulcus, pulling the penile body proximally and forcing the penis to protrude below the pubic symphysis. If penile release is not performed, it will affect the development of the penis and cause psychological and physical disorders in the child. If the surgeon does not understand the causes and anatomical variants of the disease and performs circumcision as if it were a general prepuce, it will not only fail to return the penis to its normal anatomical position, but also lose part of the foreskin and cause shortening of the foreskin, which will make future treatment more difficult. The pediatric surgery department of Wuhan Union Medical College Hospital routinely performs the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric occult penis and has achieved good results. Welcome to visit us, we will be dedicated to providing quality medical services for your baby with our exquisite medical skills and good medical ethics.