Medical circumcision in France: Leo’s experience

I got circumcised at 20 years old in October 2022 in a clinic in Saint-Herblain, France.

Why did you get circumcised?

I always had trouble with my foreskin, it was too tight and my frenulum was too short. That was quite painful, and I couldn’t retract my foreskin easily when my penis was erect. I told my regular doctor about it, and she gave me names of urologists to get an expert’s opinion. Less importantly, I also liked the appearance of a circumcised penis a bit more.

How did you choose your clinic?

I went to see a urologist that my doctor recommended. I went to the Clinique Urologique in Saint-Herbalin, France, a private clinic. It was close to my home, had great reviews, and was listed as one of the best urological clinics in France.

During the first appointment, the doctor examined my penis and told me that I indeed had a phimosis and a tight frenulum, and suggested circumcision. I agreed, and the surgery was scheduled less than one week later.

What style did you want? What method?

I didn’t talk about styles on the first appointment, and the surgeon didn’t ask me for the style I wanted.

I got a low and tight cut, which is pretty standard in Europe I think, and it was done free-hand. I would have preferred a bit higher cut, but I’m not sure it was possible with my phimosis to keep much inner foreskin.

What happened at the clinic?

The surgery was scheduled very early in the morning. I was given a room with a bed to dress up in the medical clothes the nurse gave me and to wait for my surgery.

They gave me some medications to anticipate the anaesthesia. Then I was taken to the operation room. The surgery was done under general anaesthesia, so I was asleep for the procedure.

I laid down on the table, they asked me to remove the item of clothing covering my genitals, then they injected some anaesthetic.

I woke up about one hour later, whilst the surgery lasted 20 minutes or so. Obviously the first thing I did after waking up was to look at my new penis, without the foreskin!

I was released from the clinic in the early afternoon.

How was the recovering and healing period? Did you have any problems?

The healing was quite painful at times in the first two weeks. Erections hurt the most, I had trouble sleeping because of night erections.

It was painful if I touched it, but otherwise when soft it wasn’t painful at all. It was very swollen at first, and decreased very gradually.

The sensation of an exposed glans was less surprising than what I would have thought, I got used to it pretty fast. It bled once or twice in the first days, quite a lot but it stopped fast enough that I didn’t need to see a doctor again.

After the first two weeks, the pain cleared up fast. I started to masturbate again after about three weeks of abstinence as advised. I removed my remaining stitches as I felt the scar was closed.

Are you happy with how it turned out? How has it affected your (sex) life?

I’m very happy with the result! I’m glad I got rid of my painful foreskin and frenulum. It also looks much better. I’m way confident in my penis since the tight frenulum made me feel like it was fragile, and I was a bit ashamed of my phimosis. Now it feels much “stronger” if that makes sense.

I lost a bit of sensitivity, but that doesn’t bother as I found my glans to be way too sensitive before, now I would say it’s comfortable. I masturbate with or without lube depending on my mood. Dry masturbation is way more enjoyable than I thought it would be!

Do you have any advice for someone considering circumcision?

Gather information, and if you want to, do it, you will probably love it. The only thing I regret is not getting it done earlier, and wasting years with my phimosis.

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If you would like to view photos of Leo’s circumcision, please click here.