Le phimosis occurs when the foreskin (= the fold of skin covering the glans penis) cannot retract to reveal the glans. This condition can sometimes increase the risk of inflammation between the gland and foreskin.

Phimosis only exists in men whose penis is only partially circumcised or uncircumcised. Phimosis is naturally present in infants and toddlers. Then it usually goes away on its own and becomes rare after adolescence.

Causes of phimosis

Phimosis almost always occurs from scalping maneuvers performed in a newborn or young child. These forced retractions lead to adhesions and retractions of the tissues of the foreskin, which can cause phimosis.

In adulthood, phimosis can be a consequence:

• Local infection (balanitis). This inflammation can cause the tissues of the foreskin to retract, making it narrower. Diabetes increases the risk of infections of all kinds, including balanitis. Lack of local hygiene can also be the cause of infections.
• Lichen sclerosus or scleroatrophic lichen. This skin disease makes the foreskin fibrous which can cause phimosis.
• Local trauma, for example, trauma to the foreskin. VSome men have a narrow tendency foreskin that can shrink with scarring and trigger phimosis.

Disorders associated with phimosis

Paraphimosis is an accident that occurs when the foreskin, once removed, cannot return to its normal initial position, constituting a constriction of the glans. This accident is painful because it blocks blood flow to the penis. A consultation with a doctor is then necessary. Most often, the doctor manages to reduce paraphimosis by putting the foreskin back in place with a maneuver.

Paraphimosis may be due to phimosis, in a man who has tried to retract by forcing. It can also occur in a man who has had a urinary catheter inserted, without his foreskin being put back in place.

Adult men suffering from tight phimosis, who do not seek treatment, and in whom it results in the impossibility of hygiene between the glans and the foreskin, are at greater risk of developing penile cancer. It is, however, a rare cancer.

Prevalence

In young children, phimosis is normal. About 96% of newborn boys have phimosis. At the age of 3, 50% still have phimosis and in adolescence, around 17 years, only 1% are affected.