From Penis Amputation to Parenting: How Reconstructive Surgery Saved One Man After Botched Circumcision and Allowed Him to Father a Child

By Danelle Day © 2014
NBC Bay Area News Brief


Mike is a new father from Mississippi, with a story to share that is filled with both great regret and great joy.

When Mike was 7 years old, he was circumcised. Complications from this genital cutting led to severe infection that spread quickly. Physicians at the time made the call to amputate his penis to save his life. Living without normal male anatomy was, understandably, very difficult. Mike visited psychologists and physicians in an attempt to bring some normalcy back to his life. However, he was often left without hope, and became severely depressed.

That is, until his uncle found information about Dr. Gordon Lee at Stanford who specializes in reconstructive surgery of the body's organs. Seven years ago, Mike met with Dr. Lee for the first time. Lee ended up utilizing tissue from Mike's thigh to reconstruct a functioning penis - and this past year, Mike went on to father a baby. As far as he knows, it is something that Dr. Lee says is, "a world's first!"

Dr. Lee continued in reflection on Mike's situation, "What we do here is not so much life-saving, but life-GIVING."

Still working through the emotional trauma that losing your genitals to circumcision would inflict upon most of us, Mike says, "Without Dr. Lee, this would not be possible. And if my story can help anyone, I want it to. If anyone had to go through what I went through, I want you to know it is possible... When I first held him, I didn't know what to say to him. My first words were, 'my Munchin'... and for the rest of my life, I think I'll call him 'Munchin.' [...] I bought him this Superman stuff because I knew he is a miracle. I love the symbol - it is hope. For him to be here, something had to go right."




Related Reading: 

Repeat Circumcision: Lessons Learned From the Mother of a Botched Baby

$700,000 Infant Circumcision Amputation Settlement

Circumcision Costs Man His Penis Two Weeks Before Wedding

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3 comments:

  1. Wow! It's a wonderful story.....but such a sad one too. I know people want to ignore all the possible risks of circumcision....but these stories are important to share so that the reality is served. No doctor is going to tell a parent that this kind of situation is a real possibility.....but here it is. If parents knew more about the risks.....they would not be allowing anyone with a sharp object near their childs genitals!

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  2. It gets worse though, this guy had his son circumcised!!!!

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    1. They were lied to and duped again... His wife said the doctors told them they could circumcise without even cutting - with "just a little plastic cap that would fall off in a few days..." :( So tragic that they did not even look into what plastibell circumcision actually is. http://www.drmomma.org/2009/08/plastibell-infant-circumcision.html

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