Patient's question:
How is the foreskin considered too long? What are the harms if it is not removed?Doctor's answer:
Hello, phimosis refers to a condition where the foreskin completely covers the glans of the penis, preventing it from naturally protruding. However, the foreskin can be retracted during cleaning, masturbation, or sexual intercourse to expose the glans.For men themselves, phimosis can easily lead to infections and the accumulation of smegma. Long-term chronic irritation may cause chronic inflammation (such as balanitis) and, in severe cases, may even trigger cancerous changes.
It is also highly detrimental to women. If a husband has phimosis, smegma may enter the female reproductive tract during intercourse, leading to multiple chronic irritations of the cervix and potentially causing cervical cancer. Medical studies have found that among Jewish male infants who undergo circumcision shortly after birth, the incidence of cervical cancer in their wives is extremely low. Some studies have compared wives of uncircumcised men with those of circumcised men and found that the former have an 8-fold higher incidence of cervical cancer compared to the latter.
Given these findings, it is recommended that individuals with phimosis, especially those with phimosis (retractile phimosis), undergo surgical treatment at an early stage, which would be highly beneficial for both themselves and their wives.