The Scare Tactic - Long Term Reminder

Provocative title, I know.

Some of my favorite blog posts concern explaining how things will look after the bris, and long term care reminders. Why? Because I don't post pictures of actual circumcisions, so I need to be quite descriptive, and rely on other images to get the point across.

See for example the following urls.
http://www.mohelinsouthflorida.com/2010/01/what-will-it-look-like-before-and.html
http://www.mohelinsouthflorida.com/2011/01/knowing-what-to-expect-afterwards.html
http://www.mohelinsouthflorida.com/2012/09/chubby-baby-syndrome.html
http://www.mohelinsouthflorida.com/2011/08/fusion-challenge.html

Certainly my most favorite blog post about explaining the anatomy - with pictures! - and what happens during a bris, is here. The only challenge was that I had injured myself at the time. Can you tell?

So what is the scare tactic? How do I get people to understand the concern of Chubby Baby Syndrome, and the reality of the Fusion Challenge, the need to be resilient (in some cases) in pushing back the remains of the membrane (or ha'priah) and making sure it does not fuse to the glans?

Here's the story.

A few years ago I had an incredible bris experience, which actually led to this amazing story. (I wrote up a dvar Torah using the story, which is on my other blog). When I visited the baby at the end of the day, to remove the bandage and see that all was well with the bris, I met one of the father's friends.

Permit a brief pause, but this is actually quite relevant. At many brisses, while most people are respectful, respectable, and honorable, there are some men who make unnecessary (and unfunny) jokes about bris and circumcision. I promise I've heard them all. The most common one is "rabbi, do you do touchups?" As if the person is suggesting he is 'unhappy' with his circumcision or that I have any interest in doing a surgical correction. My thoughts on this kind of humor can be found here. 

The friend of the father had a question about his "bris," and after ignoring him/pushing his 'question' aside a couple of times, I realized he was actually serious. This was very rare. (Like urologists, I examine adults on occasion, to see if their circumcision is kosher, particularly before a conversion, or if someone not circumcised by a mohel wants to make sure his circumcision is adequate and correctable through hatafat dam bris) We went into a room for a consultation, and with a quick look I knew exactly what was wrong.

When circumcised as a baby, this man's caregivers did not separate the membrane, and it had fused to the top edge of the glans (38 years earlier). During erections, instead of the glans going straight, it was being pulled back by the 12-o'clock skin of the shaft. I told the fellow he needed to consult with a urologist and have it surgically corrected. And his friend, the baby's daddy, confirmed for me several months later (when we randomly met in a store) that his friend had things taken care of and was grateful.

Bottom line: Parents, this need not ever be your child's experience if you take heed to what I (or your son's mohel) tell you about aftercare and how things are supposed to look (see all links above for descriptions).

That is my "scare tactic." I hope the message comes across loud and clear.