Would you consider this medical negligence?
My son Bradley is 19 months old. For the entire 19 months he has been going to the Children's Hospital Primary Care pediatric care facility for his primary care, check ups, etc. I have always taken him to his appointments and have taken him at least 3 additional times to have him evaluated because his foreskin is sticking to the head of his penis and not retracting. (I'm not going to be shy here) So, multiple doctors have examined his genitals and all have told me that this is normal and eventually when he is older it will correct itself. Now, I have been trying to get him in for his 18 month appt. for over a month and he has had a bad cough, they couldn't get him in for either of these appointments for a very long time so I get fed up and found him a pediatrician. He went to this pediatrician yesterday for his 18 month appointment and I mentioned about the foreskin sticking, he agreed with their statements but said my son had a much bigger issue to be concerned about. His exact words were "where are his testicles?" "Have they ever noticed his testicles aren't there?" I could have passed out. According to this doctor my son has undecended testes, (he thinks he found one) but the other never dropped and this should have been caught A LONG TIME AGO. It is very important to catch before they are 12 months of age. He will have to go througha an ultra sound, possibly a laproscopy and eventually possibly surgery to correct this. It is easly fixable and common in boys. What pisses me off is I have had these doctors specifically examine my son's genitals on multipal occasions and NOT ONE of them noticed he didn't have his testicles?! I want to storm into this office and confront these doctors, I want to write them a letter, I want to write a complaint to the Medical Board, what do you suggest? Seriously.
Carrie: His "area" looked perfectly normal and proportionate on both sides. Obviously if it didn't I would have addressed this. And it is the doctor's job to check and make sure my son's testes are in the right place I am not a doctor and don't go feeling around my son's genitals looking for something I wouldn't even think to look for. As a first time mom of a boy I am offended by your answer.
♥Mrs Chαrlí♥
Write a letter to the board. Leave it, then re-read it when you raw emotions are gone, and then re-write it. Then post it.
We had a similar case, which rendered my Son with irreversible damage to his ears. And basically we were told, that we either sued, or an apology was all we were getting.
Hope your little man is ok.
xxxxxxxxxx
~Carrie~ & 5 say Happy New Year
My second son had this same situation when he was 1 and a half. His testicle (one of them) didn't descend until he was closer to two also. It's really not that big a deal and not that uncommon. Maybe your doctor DID notice it before but knowing it's not uncommon at all maybe he didn't feel the need to point it out. A LOT of male babies have this for a while. Most outgrow it. At least, that's what I was told when we were dealing with it with our second son.
Why didn't you notice it yourself? You're blaming the doctor for not noticing but you have changed his diaper for the past nineteen months. Didn't you ever notice it looked different than the other side?
I'm not being rude and I don't think it's any big deal that you didn't notice, I'm just showing how I don't really think it's negligence.
But in any case, it's great that you have a good doctor now that will take good care of your son. Don't worry too much and let bygones be bygones. Your son needs a happy mama, not an angry one;-)
**I'm sorry I offended you. Honestly, I said everything in good humor. Sometimes it's hard to read intent on the computer but I really didn't mean any insult. I certainly don't mean to imply that YOU are a bad mom! I know how hard it is to make decisions and try to do what's best for our children. I don't at all think that you should have done anything different. I was just trying to show you how the doctor may have not necessarily "missed" it, but maybe just didn't consider it that big a deal.
Anyway, again, I truly didn't mean to sound condescending at all. I certainly have no right to put another mom down and I wasn't trying to:-) I know I am no better and I know we are all just doing the best we can.
I apologize that it sounded....whatever it sounded
boomer s
you have every right to be angry, this is something that a lot of moms of boys don't think about until it happens and first time really don't get books on what the genitals look like anyway so the responsibility was not on you to make sure he had a nice set hanging down there.
I would find out what the laws are in your state for medical malpractice and talk to a lawyer about what to do next and get records together of what happened during all of his visits with this doctor and if you have to call them to get it then do it but don't tell them what for or they may get a wind of whats coming and try to play games in building a case against them.
but definitely don't let this go unpunished, this could have been more serious and who is to say that they haven't wronged another mother who doesn't know any better either.
2275c
Definitely complain to the medical board. I don't see a point in confronting these drs - they are obviously idiots. Sorry you have to deal with this now - but thank goodness you found a good dr.
rainwriterm
Before you figure out how you want to handle it, I suggest waiting until you find out what exactly any type of correction will entail.
Find out how the doctor will work with it, when he'll want to preform surgery to pull the other one down, if it will require a second surgery to make sure it is in its proper place, if the cost of the procedure and invasiveness of the procedure will be different now than it would have been if it had been caught earlier etc.
From what I can find, the surgery isn't suggested until *after* a child is older than 12 months. So, even though it's upsetting and negligent that they didn't find it earlier, chances are they wouldn't have scheduled a surgery yet for it even if they had found it. The problem, from what I understand, also shouldn't be any worse knowing about it now than knowing about it a few months ago.
Since knowing about it earlier most likely wouldn't have changed how it will be fixed, I don't think you can really hold the previous doctors responsible.
Maybe you can write out a letter to them explaining why you are no longer going to use their services, write a letter to the editor of your local newspapers to share with others their negligence etc. Go ahead and write a complaint to the medical board. It is definitely something they should have caught earlier.
If it's any consolation, my hubby had surgery for this same reason when he was about 12 years old, and (obviously) is doing just fine.
Busy Mommy
Because it could end in him needing surgery, I would consider the possibility of negligence. I would get a specialist and determine the severity of his condition (do they have foreskin/testes specialists?) And if it was determined that their lack of attention made his condition worse, or if it could have been easier to fix if determined sooner, I would lawyer up.
Michael
A 19-month-old's foreskin should NOT be retracted!
Not until the age of 5 years does it usually start separating from the head, so at the moment it is fused to it to protect it. The doctors are correct in this respect.
Please read the below website about caring for the foreskin.
Regarding the rest of your question, I agree with the first answerer. Write a letter to the board expressing your concern.
e w
The foreskin of an infant or toddler is NEVER supposed to be retracted, and is supposed to adhere to the glans, as it prevents infections and other complications.
Forcibly retracting the foreskin at that age will damage it, and possibly result in phimosis, as the foreskin opening doesn't have time to develop with the penis if scar tissue is formed by persons pulling it back.
Many doctors aren't familiar with a normal infant or adult foreskin, as all they want to do is chop them off, as they make money from it, and are highly biased because they frequently belong to the religions that try to mutilate all males' penises.
Hospitals even sell the amputated infants' foreskins for use in COSMETICS, of all things. They are used in some very highly expensive creams.
Anyway, don't let anyone try to retract your son's foreskin, and tell anyone giving him any care in advance.
The undescended testicles will need to be surgically corrected, and you may have some basis for litigation, if all of these doctors didn't even notice it before.
Don't let any doctor talk you into circumcising him; a foreskin is a natural and normal part of a complete penis, and is necessary for complete sexual function and sensitivity.
It's good that you left your son intact, but if you want more information about the infant foreskin, you can contact NOCIRC, an organization founded by a nurse who refused to be a party to the cruel, barbaric atrocity of circumcision.
Just type it in on your browser, and you can also look at the site CIRCUMSTITIONS for more information.
nebit214
I would first get a second opinion from a specialist. As you said, multiple doctors have examined his genitals, and only one has noticed this problem. I think a second opinion is certainly in order before you do anything else. If the specialist agrees that he has undecended testicles, that they should have been noticed earlier, and that failure to diagnose them is going to cause your son more problems, then you might want to consult a lawyer to go over your options. I would not do anything without first talking to a lawyer, because if it turns out to be a big problem nd you need a leghal remedy, any angry letters or board complaints may well count against your case.
As for his foreskin, the doctors are correct, there is nothing wrong with it. The foreskin isn't supposed to retract over the head at this age. In fact, doing so can seriously hurt him. Here is some information about foreskin care-
It may start to retract sometime in the next few years, however, a study in Europe, where most boys are intact, found that the average age of retraction wasn't until 10 or 12 years. Some boys aren't retractable until after puberty and that is also normal. You don't have to worry about cleaning it at all. Your son will be the first person to retract it, and it needs no special cleaning until he hits puberty- at which point just tell him that in addition to shaving, using deodorant etc, he needs to start retracting his foreskin as well.
Here are some links on proper care of intact boy-
From Doctors Opposing Circumcision
http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.o...
From NOCIRC (run by a nurse)-
http://www.nocirc.org/publish/pamphlet4....
From the American Academy of Pediatrics guide to caring for an intact son-
http://www.aap.org/publiced/br_uncircumc...
dmveganheathen
The foreskin is supposed to be stuck to the head of the penis at such a young age! Please do not try to move it any more! This is painful and can cause problems like scarring. All you have to do when he is younger is wash the intact penis like you would a finger.
As for the testicle issue, I would write a letter like you suggest.
Good luck to you and your son.
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