What Can I Expect After My Adult Circumcision?

There are many reasons men undergo circumcision later in life, from hygiene to religious concerns. Whatever your reason, our goal is to ensure that you fully understand the procedure, including what you can expect during your recovery.

Our team here at Gulf Coast Urology, led by John Bertini, MD, and James Harris, MD, understands the importance of patient education. We believe that an informed patient has the tools they need to better navigate their health, which is certainly true when it comes to procedures like circumcisions.

In the following, we take a look at what you can expect from your recovery from circumcision, including a few tips to ease the way.

Immediately following your circumcision

In most cases, we perform your circumcision under general anesthesia. The procedure itself only takes about 30 minutes. Once you wake up and we’re sure that everything has gone smoothly, you’re free to return home, but please arrange for someone to drive you.

You should also plan on wearing some loose clothing that doesn’t put any pressure on your crotch (this tip will serve you well for the week following your circumcision).

We place a dressing over the surgical site, which you should keep in place according to our aftercare instructions. With this initial dressing, we ask that you avoid showering to keep the area dry.

You’ll likely come back to see us within a few days so that we can check your sutures and supply you with a fresh dressing, if needed. It’s important you keep this area clean and apply any ointments we may recommend to avoid infection.

You can expect to feel some soreness for the first week after your surgery, which you can remedy with medications. We may prescribe some or recommend some over-the-counter products that can help with pain and inflammation.

We also urge you to ice the area. You can find ice packs at your local pharmacy or use a bag of frozen peas (or something similar), which is pliable enough to cover the end of your penis.

Since you’re going to be uncomfortable, we recommend that you take a week off from work after your circumcision and spend this time resting comfortably.

The weeks following your circumcision

After the first week, you should realize improvements, both in terms of swelling and pain. At this point, you can get back to more of your normal routine, such as work, but you still need to avoid any strenuous activities (no exercising, for example).

Though we use dissolvable sutures, you’ll still see evidence of them for up to three weeks, which is perfectly normal.

When it comes to sex, you may feel some soreness when you have an erection during the first few weeks, so we ask that you avoid intercourse for four weeks.

Rest assured, we’re with you every step of the way during your recovery, and we let you know when you can add more activities.

If you have any further questions about what to expect during your recovery from a circumcision, please contact one of our two locations in Houston or Nassau Bay, Texas.