Newborn & Infant Circumcision in Calgary

Intramed Medical Centre is Southern Alberta’s dedicated provider of infant circumcision.

Our private Calgary circumcision clinic is structured to meet the needs of baby boys and their families – in order to provide a safe and gentle infant circumcision experience.

The seasoned medical team will exceed your expectations for quality of care. Our circumcision doctor has been performing infant circumcision for 40 years.

You are in good hands with our doctor.

Baby circumcision is commonly done relatively early in the life of your son. Procedures completed in the first four weeks are considered newborn circumcisions. Intramed routinely performs circumcision for infants up to 4 months of age.

You can request an appointment now, and if you have a few minutes you can also go ahead and call us to register for your baby’s circumcision procedure.

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Pollock Technique™ Baby Circumcision in Alberta

Our Calgary clinic utilizes the virtually painless Pollock Technique™ baby circumcision procedure. Our client families come from greater Calgary, all over Southern Alberta, and from Red Deer and points North.

You can request an appointment online.

If you have taken the decision to have your son circumcised it is recommended to schedule the procedure as soon as possible in his young and new life – so contact us now if you are ready.

Before Circumcision – Preparing Your Baby

It is best to have finished feeding your son just before bringing him into the office, so that your baby will not be overly hungry while you are waiting a few minutes in the office before the procedure. If your baby gets hungry while you are at the clinic, you can feed him right after the brief circumcision procedure.

The ideal age for circumcision is within the first few weeks of life, and we provide circumcision for babies at any age.

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The Process – Preparing for infant circumcision

All the following steps are taken to ensure your son has minimal discomfort during the procedure.

First, give your son Tempra or Tylenol drops (also called acetaminophen) just before you leave home, or if you are traveling a long distance, after you arrive at the clinic. Infant acetaminophen drops usually come in a concentration of 80 mg/1 ml (check the bottle that this is the correct preparation).

Please do not give any other medication besides Tylenol or Tempra (i.e., No Ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin, etc.) because it may increase bleeding time.

At the clinic, after we clean the operative area, a quick-acting/long-lasting anesthetic is administered to ensure complete analgesia when we perform the circumcision.

The procedure is done about 10 minutes later. It takes less than a minute to do and is completely pain-free.

During the injection and the circumcision, your son will receive a sugar pacifier to suck on, which reduces his pain perception.

We require the parent(s) and infant to stay in the room for 15 minutes post-operatively for observation.

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After Circumcision – Post Surgery Care for Infants

Before you leave our Calgary baby circumcision clinic one of our staff will review detailed and thorough post operative care instructions with you, and here is a summary below.

How to care for your son in the first 24 hours following the circumcision:

1 - Keep your son snugly swaddled (especially his legs). The more he kicks his legs, the less comfortable he may be.

2 - Please check your baby’s diaper every hour for the next 24 hours to look for any abnormal bleeding.

3 - Leave the gauze in place and remove it only after 24 hours, and then replace it with a fresh 3×3 dressing with Vaseline – and this will stay on until the follow-up on day two. If the dressing falls off early, do not panic- just replace it with a fresh 3×3 gauze with some Vaseline on it and put it over the penis.

4 - For the following seven days, put a large amount of Vaseline on your finger and rub it over the incision site placing a thick layer of Vaseline over the entire head of the penis. No gauze bandages are required after the first 48 hours, just Vaseline.

5 - It is important to push the skin down off the head of the penis if it has moved up a little to ensure it heals properly just behind the back rim of the head. Do not do any pushing on the skin for the first two days because it will be swollen from the surgery. If you are unsure of the appearance of your son’s penis, bring him to see one of our doctors, and they will adjust the skin for you if he thinks it is required.

– This image shows initial application of the gauze with Vaseline. Replace it if it falls off in the first 24 hours. The image also shows the long gauze and bandage around the penis that will be removed in 24 hours. If it falls off earlier, you may leave it off.

General care following the circumcision:

1 - It is normal for your son to be a little irritable for the first 24 hours following the circumcision.

2 - Most babies like to nurse in a quiet environment following the circumcision.

3 - A baby who cries for more than a few minutes is usually suffering from air swallowed during the circumcision and needs to be burped.

4 - Most babies sleep quite well following the circumcision. The best sleeping position for your baby is on his side, supported by a blanket roll.

5 - Healing is promoted by keeping the area around the penis clean and dry. Warm water and a cotton-ball or washcloth are preferred for cleaning the area around the penis. Avoid moistened towelettes, alcohol, powders, and lotion since these may cause irritation.

6 - Disposable diapers are strongly recommended for the first week since they tend to be less irritating, and they help keep the area dryer and cleaner.

7 - It is better for 2-3 days following the circumcision to restrict the handling of your baby to just a few people. Also, avoid unnecessary travel as car seats can be irritating to the new circumcision.

– Here you see a part of the mucosa attaching to the head of the penis. This is an example of mucosal adhesion that requires a simple adjustment by our doctors.

Common Questions After Your Son’s Circumcision

The gauze is very sticky and hard to pull off.

It is normal to use some force to pull off the gauze bandage. To make this easier, you can soak the gauze with warm water and Vaseline before pulling it off.

The entire Vaseline gauze around the penis falls off before 24 hours.

This is not important. Reapply a gauze pad with Vaseline and place it on the penis until the 24 hours is up. Then, just use Vaseline as instructed for the next 1-2 weeks.

There is stool on the gauze around the penis or on the penis after the gauze is removed.

Try to clean it as best as you can using soapy water and then rinse it.

When you take off the gauze there is some bleeding.

A small amount of bleeding is normal. Take some gauze with Vaseline on it and squeeze the bleeding area of the penis with your fingers for 2 minutes. Repeat if necessary. Call us if bleeding persists despite pressure.

There is a piece of skin still attached to the head of the penis, or you can’t see the entire head of the penis.

If you are concerned, come back to have the baby examined at our Calgary circumcision clinic.

How long does it take for the circumcision to heal completely?

In babies under 2 months, it should heal completely in about seven days. In older babies it may take one week.

Does it hurt when the baby urinates?

It may hurt a little the first day, but after a day it should not be painful.

What is the ideal age to do a circumcision?

The best time is between 5-14 days of age, although circumcisions are done at Intramed until 4 months of age. Since newborn babies are less aware, families should try their best to have circumcision done as close to this time period as possible.

At Intramed Medical Centre we also offer circumcision for boys and men over 13 years of age.

What complications are possible from circumcision?

Complications are rare. Occasionally, there can be bleeding from the circumcision many hours after the procedure. This is treated by putting some pressure with gauze on the penis for 2-3 minutes to close the oozing blood vessel. Very rarely, more serious bleeding can occur which may require a visit to the hospital. Infection is also a possible complication. It is extremely rare and can be associated with redness, pus, and a foul smell from the circumcision. It is treated by putting Polysporin on the penis five times a day which usually resolves any infection in one or two days.

Are more serious complications possible i.e trauma to the penis?

Yes, they are possible; however, to date, there have never been any serious complications among our patients or in the over 50,000 circumcisions done with the Pollock technique.

Will it hurt my baby?

Every effort is used to make this procedure as painless possible for the baby. Many babies can sleep through the entire procedure that takes less than 1 minute. Most babies experience little or no pain at all.

What can I expect my baby to be like after the circumcision?

It is not unusual for a baby to sleep 6-8 hours after the procedure and to miss a feeding. Some babies will be irritable for a number of minutes to hours afterwards. Behaviourally, most babies are back to themselves by the next day or two.

Do I need a physician referral in order to book an appointment?

No. If you are booking for your son, it is a parental decision and we only require consent from both parents to proceed. You may book online directly.

LEARN MORE ABOUT

Penile Frenulectomy

Teen and Child Circumcision

Circumcision Fees

Our Circumcision Clinic

Post Circumcision Healing

Healing is usually rapid and occurs in several stages. Remember that a circumcision is like any other cut. There are many factors that influence healing; but most importantly, every child heals differently.

First, the cut edge seals and bleeding ceases within minutes, hours, or even over the course of an entire day. The area just behind the glans (especially the underside) will become swollen. This inflammation will subside within a week or two. In the first two days, there may be an off-white or yellowish, patchy appearance of the glans. These patches are a type of scab and are associated with normal healing.

After a few days the area where the skin was cut looks green and yellow. This is NOT pus. It is healing tissue. It can look this color for up to two weeks after the circumcision.

You will also notice that the glans appears red and glossy sometimes purple. This is because the skin covering the glans of an uncircumcised penis is mucous membrane (like the skin inside your cheek). Once exposed, the mucous membrane will toughen (or keratinize), and, in time, take on a normal appearance. It takes about a month for the penis to take on a normal, healed appearance.

Appearance of the Penis

A common concern for parents is aesthetics. Remember that penises come in all shapes and sizes. While most penises “look normal” within days of the circumcision, some do not take on a “completely normal appearance” until after the penis starts to grow. Furthermore, although the penis may appear smaller after circumcision, it is not! This appearance is mostly due to the relaxation of skin surrounding the penis, which prior to circumcision holds the penis more erect.

After a few days to week, some parents notice swelling of the mucosal tissue behind or under the head of the penis and believe it looks “like a blister”. This type of swelling is normal. It is not a blister, and it will gradually subside over time with no longer term impact.

On occasion, a poor aesthetic result occurs when too little or too much skin is removed, or more likely when the cut edge of the skin attaches too high or too low along the length of the penis. The latter is sometimes caused by the presence of a hydrocele or penile erections. In nearly all of these cases, the penis will heal properly and in time take on a normal appearance. If you are concerned in any way about the appearance of your son’s penis, please consult with one of our doctors immediately.

Frenulum – Band of Skin Underneath the Penis

Sometimes parents come to us worried about a band on the bottom of the penis fearing that it needs to be cut. This band is called the frenulum which carries the frenular artery and is normal (see image). It is similar to the band under the tongue (the part that is cut in some babies with tongue-tie).

You may notice a band on the bottom of the penis after circumcision. This is normal and no reason for concern.

Get baby circumcised fast — - You will notice yellow patches on the head of the penis as it heals. This is a normal part of healing.

Circumcision in edmonton, calgary, red deer and whitehorse. — - The head of the penis can often be purple, blue, or red after circumcision. This is normal.

circumcision baby doctor in region — - You will notice a mucosal ring at the base of the penis head. Sometimes it is more prominent on one side than the other. This is normal and is no cause for concern.

Baby post circumcision care instuction — - You may notice a band on the bottom of the penis after circumcision. This is normal and no reason for concern.

Post-Procedure Support

If you need support following your procedure, you can contact us by phone during office hours at 403-255-6196 , and we will assist you immediately.

You may also walk into our office.

For after hours support, we are members of the Calgary West Central Primary Care Network (PCN). To access this service call Health Link @ 811. If needed they will connect you with the doctor on call or refer you to the PCN After Hours clinic for a same day or next day appointment. It is located at 5960 Centre Street SE

If the above options do not meet your needs, you may also proceed to any urgent care centre or emergency room.

Buried Penis

Some babies have what is called a buried penis. This is often congenital, or it can occur when there is a significant amount of pubic fat around the penis pushing the shaft skin upwards covering the head of the penis. This is not because there is redundant or excess foreskin. In most cases, a buried penis will resolve by itself as the baby or child gets older. These images show a buried penis and how it can be pushed out for cleaning. Babies will usually grow out of it around two years of age, with some resolving earlier, and some a little later.