Page 2 of 2The American Academy of Pediatrics says circumcision may have some health benefits, but it is not medically necessary.
Edell consented to having his first three boys circumcised. But when his wife was about to give birth to his fourth son 15 years ago, he met a nurse who convinced him that circumcision is not only medically unnecessary, but also harmful.
That nurse was Marilyn Milos, founder of NOCIRC. She is passionate about protecting babies from circumcision, a procedure she believes is barbaric because it's often done without anesthetic, and it deprives boys of a sexually functional part of their body without their consent.
Milos and Edell both tout an intact penis as better for sex with a woman. Not only does the foreskin provide a sleeve effect, but when the glans is covered, it secretes lubrication.
That's why it was put there, Edell said. "Women often say 'Ew, it's wet and it smells.' Last time I checked, women are moist and have odors, and it never kept any guys away. It's just what you're programmed to find acceptable."
A protected glans is also more sensitive, Milos said, since when it's exposed the skin covering it becomes thicker. The foreskin also contains up to 40,000 nerve endings that make a man more sensitive during sex, she said.
Edell believes the attention given to female circumcision, which was outlawed in the United States in 1996, has increased men's awareness of their own circumcision. While female circumcision may seem like a much more extreme procedure, Edell and Milos believe the two are similar enough.
"This is not an issue of comparative suffering," Milos said. "The screams of baby boys and the screams of baby girls are exactly the same when they're under the knife and their genitals are being cut."
Foreskin reconstruction surgery can be a difficult procedure. Dr. E. Douglas Whitehead, director of New York Phalloplasty and president of the American Academy of Phalloplasty Surgeons, performs penis enlargement but has chosen not to offer foreskin reconstruction.
"I know there's a demand for it," Whitehead said. "If there was a surgical technique that I considered produced good results, I would offer it to patients. I simply don't believe there is a technique out there at the moment that I would embrace."
The procedure involves a cut around the circumference of the penis, after which the surgeon slides the skin to fit over the glans. That leaves a portion of the shaft of the penis exposed, so another surgery is done to take tissue from the scrotum to cover the shaft.
Dr. Harold Reed, a surgeon in Miami, Florida, offers a slightly different procedure, but doesn't always recommend it.
"For people who have the time to spend on the stretching technique, just stretching the penile skin I think would be the best approach of all," Reed said.
All of the men who have restored their foreskin seem to be pleased with the results. Griffiths said that when he had restored himself about halfway, he noticed a new and pleasurable sensation while taking a shower.
"I pulled foreskin back and put a fine spray on it," he said. "I went through the roof ... in a very good way."