[Does circumcision affect male's perception of sexual satisfaction?]

Abstract

Summary objectives: To evaluate the effect of circumcision on sexual satisfaction perception in males with stable sexual partners.

Methods: Twenty two heterosexual male adults, sexually active with a stable partner, scheduled for circumcision for medical (MR) or esthetic reasons (ER) at our clinic between June 2005 and June 2006 were included in this study. Men with severe erectile dysfunction (ED) were excluded from the study. These men were surveyed to assess erectile function, penile sensitivity, esthetical penis' appearance, sexual activity and overall satisfaction before the procedure and 12 weeks after. Categorical scores were evaluated with Chi square.

Results: Surgical indications were: Phimosis 50%, balanitis 18.2%, condyloma 13.6% and esthetics 13.6%. After the procedure 82% of patients referred an upgrade on the quality of their sexual intercourse, 4.5% referred it diminished and 13.5% referred no change at all. 95.5% of the patients felt better with the appearance of their penis. Almost all areas of sexual satisfaction weren't statistical significant except for the improvement in erectile function (p 0.0007) and perception of sexual events (p 0.04). This improvement on erectile function was reported as shifts from mild to normal on International Index of Erectile Function 5 scores. Premature ejaculation was observed in 31.8%(7) before the procedure and diminished to 13.6%(3).

Conclusion: Because of our statistic limitations and mix indications for circumcision in the study, we cannot conclude that circumcision might bring certain benefit on sexual satisfaction by itself but certainly does not bring deleterious effects and, when dissatisfaction is associated with local problems, some benefit could be expected.