Aftercare advice.

Our care doesn’t just end after the operation.

What happens after the operation?

Once the operation is complete, we will bring your child out to you and monitor them for 20 minutes. If everything is okay, we will then discharge you and send a discharge letter to your GP. What happens after this is vital. We will be in touch daily for 2 weeks to make sure everything is okay and you will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions if you have them. You will have access to our emergency line, and you can also send us messages via Whatsapp. Here are the answers to questions you may have.

The day of the operation (Day 1)

On the day of your son’s operation (Day 1), you may have some questions. Here we answer as many as possible.

  • Immediately after the operation, our staff will bring you your child and give you a private room in which to stay.

  • About 20 minutes after the procedure, a member of our team will review the circumcision and if there are no concerns, you can go home.

  • Yes. You can feed your child as normal after the operation.

  • Hold your child as normal. If you can avoid putting a lot of pressure on the penis then that would reduce the risk of the ring being tugged.

  • Yes. You can use your care seat as normal after the operation.

  • If your child does a big poo and it goes onto the circumcision, use some wet cotton wool and give it a gentle clean. You might not be able to fully remove all the poo and that is okay. This will will get clearned on day 2 onwards.

  • Change the nappy as normal. Continue using the same size nappy as normal. Leaving the nappy on/off for longer will not affect the circumcision.

  • Avoid bathing your child on the day of the procedure. After this, you can give your child a bath.

  • If you need to clean your son’s body on the day of the operation, use wipes as normal.

  • We will discuss how much paracetomol to give your child, as it depends on their weight. We advise that you give your child a dose of paracetomol 2 hours after the operation.

  • Do not use Vaseline or petrolleum jelly on the circumcision. They do not make the ring come off quicker. Any creams or ointments precribed by your GP can be continued.

  • You may notice some blood stains on the nappy for the first 24 hours. This should be less than a 50 pence coin. The blood should get less on every nappy change. If the bleeding is any more than this or increasing in volume, please contact our emergency hotline.

  • Your child should pass urine as normal. If your child has not passed urine 6 hours after the operation, then please call our aftercare hotline.

  • Swelling and redness are an unavoidable consequence of the operation and normal. You may also see slough, which is yellow / green in colour, and this is also normal. If you have any concerns about an infection, please contact our emergency hotline.

Day 2 - 14 after the operation

  • On the morning of Day 2, do not give your child a bath and do not soak the ring in water.

    In the evening of Day 2, soak the ring in plain luke warm water for 10 minutes. Do not add anything to the soaking water (no salt, no bubble bath, no dettol etc). You can alternaitvely give your child a bath instead of simply soaking the ring (water only).

  • Soak the ring in luke warm water every morning and evening for 10 minutes. When the ring falls off, you can stop soaking the ring in water.

    Instead of soaking the ring, you can give your child a bath instead. There are no restriction on how to bathe your child - bath your child as you normally would.

  • We will show you images of what is normal and what is abnormal on the day of the clinic. If you ever in doubt, please contact our hotline.

  • The Plastibell ring can come off any times within 3-14 days. If it does not come off after 14 days, a follow up appointment is required to remove the ring - please contact us on the aftercare hotline.

  • Between the 2nd and 14th day, you might see some speck of blood on the nappy (less than 50 pence coin size). The blood will get less on every nappy change and then stop on its own. This is normal. If the blood is larger than 50p sized coin or getting more in quantity, call our emergency hotline.

  • In the first 5 days, you might see some yellowish colour where the penis was touching the nappy. This is from the dressing. It will disappear when the ring falls off. This is normal.

  • Where the sting is fastened, the foreskin above it will slowly change to black. This is normal and will fall off with the ring when it falls off.

  • After the procedure, you may see some discolouration around the testicle and on the penis too. This discolouration will disappear in several weeks and is normal.

    Swelling is also expected whilst the ring is in place. This swelling will settle down in the weeks after the ring falls.

  • If the ring slips onto the penile shaft, then we may have to cut off the ring. Please call our emergency hotline for further assessment.

The day after the operation is “Day 2”. Here are common questions we receive in relation to this day onwards.

Emergency hotline

If you have any urgent queries, please call us on our emergency hotline. For non-urgent queries, you can send us a message on Whatsapp.

☎️ Aftercare hotline: +44 (0)7961679259
✆ Whatsapp queries: 07961679259

If you have further questions about your child’s circumcision, please contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.