Having your dad circumcised

[tiahuaca]

I love circumcised daddy, so if my dad are uncut, I will advice him to be circ'ed

 

[Northland]

Now in this one I want to know your views on having dear old dad circumcised. Why would you have it done or not have it done?


If my dad were still among the living, I would leave him as he was.



(and let's try to keep this civilized)

SirConcis, it appears that you're saying medical indications are the only reasons circumcision should be done. I think the O/P was alluding to other reasons, right?

I meant medical reasons. If there were some sort of medical concerns regarding the foreskin and the overall health, well-being of your father.

To those who have said that if his health were that dire then he would be a goner anyway, keep in mind, there are health issues which are not end of life; but, can render a patient unable to make decisions. A stroke victim for example. He may not be able to communicate or perform various tasks; but may be alive for many years to come, some live in a rather vegetative state, others in a partial state of ability to communicate, still others make nearly a full recovery. Men such as these, and men in temporary comas (such as from an accident or a diabetic coma or medically induced) may need somebody to make these decisions.

As I ask at the start, why would you have it done or not done. If it meant certain additional health concerns might take place, would you say no? If the doctor indicated there was a 'slight' risk of health problems, how would you proceed?

 

[SirConcis]

A debilitating disease which would prevent the father from washing himself or going to the bathroom himself would be for more serious for the family than a decision about elective circumcision. The care of an uncut vs cut in such a state wouldn't be that different.

A family would not want to be burdened with a decision to circumcise unless the doctors felt it was recommended/necessary. It is far more likely that they would leave him uncut and only recomment circ if he develops infections , phimosis etc. At which point the doctors would recommend circ and the family can decide.

But if family go to the doctor to ask for their dad to be cut, without any reason, it becomes elective surgery and that is well outside the bounds of a situation where a family are asked to make decisions about life/death of their parent.

 

[jonboy53]

All circumcised: great grandfather (1906), grandfather (1929), dad (1952). All for simple hygiene. Me 1971. First boy (1993), second (2006).

 

[Peter Wood]

Don't fight the father (parents). Fight the system that does this.
There is an ocean between the circumcised and intact men. Are circumcised men healthier? Are intact men less clean?
The myth about hygiene and diseases, the acting because ... all men in the family are circumcised should stop. A baby boy can't decide. An adult man can and has the right to decide about his own penis.

 

[prepky]

my father had alzhiemers, and was to the point we could no longer care for him ourselves, so he was placed in a nursing home. As he progressed he kept getting UTI's and the medical staff there kept blaming it on him being uncut. I questioned the Dr when he had to be hosptialized for the third time as to why all his life he has never had a UTI and since he had been in a nursing home he had 3. The dr said it was because they were not keeping him hydrated therefore the urine that was in his bladder would just sit there and then cause a UTI not because he was uncut!! So myself and my mother sat down with the director and had a very serious conversation about his care and condition and one of us was there everyday until he left this earth.

 

[nicecircjob]

I read here about if dad developed a phimosis this is an indication to have him circumcised. Let me get this straight. Can a person develope a phimosis in later years if he didn't have one earlier in life?

 

[MHV2040AH]

Why is the procedure even legal still? Carving up your kids dick? So wrong

 

[Florida Boy]

I read here about if dad developed a phimosis this is an indication to have him circumcised. Let me get this straight. Can a person develope a phimosis in later years if he didn't have one earlier in life?

My answer would be, I think not. But strange things can happen.

 

[Uncutsouthernboy]

Yes, an older man can get phimosis at anytime in his life. My uncle told me that when he was 70 he had acquired phimosis. The dr. slit his foreskin up the back side. He said that he asked about a circumcision and the dr. told him that he advised against it as he would not like it. My uncle lives in California.

 

[eurotop40]

"preventing infection" is so ridiculous...

 

[FuzzyKen]

This is an issue based on medical need and on a number of other factors. If the parent is in a facility and it can be proven that his uncircumcised status is causing repeated infections or other medical complications then the decision is not made for any reason other than prevention of illness much as it would be in a child with severe Down's Syndrome or other equivalent condition. If you have legal power of attorney over medical decisions in his behalf then this is in fact a decision you can in fact make. I you do not have this power this is a decision that will require a Court Proceeding at least in the United States. The legalities in this one will require documents and assessments giving you the authority to make that type of decision. Dementia, strokes, MS, Lou Gehrings Disease can all cause situations where this might be necessary. However if your Dad can hear and completely understand the situation no matter his physical disability or condition the decision remains his. This basically means a Conservatorship over his affairs including medical and I can tell you that this is not a great thing. It brings bungling well-meaning bureaucrats into your life for the express privilege of telling you what you can do and to not only run his life but yours too. Rules in various jurisdictions vary, but you really want to try to avoid the conservatorship if you can. Make certain that you have the authority to step in by agreement and appointment of the family member before it is in fact needed and that you have paperwork proving that authority.

The one other thing to remember is that the normal procedure here is not circumcision but installation of a catheter. Again that may be complicated by dementia where the patient constantly pulls the catheter out causing medical need in other ways. The other problem is that if the elder care situation is extreme and the condition and debilitation is severe the act of circumcision in and of itself is a cause for infection in the elderly.

This was done at his own wish to my 82 year old father-in-law and he is in good health, but it was recommended by his MD after a fall from a roof on which he was performing repair and a hospital stay that found an abdominal aortic aneurysm and the hospital encountered some minor problems because his foreskin was evidently unusually long. As healthy as he was this did "cramp his style" or a couple of weeks.