Author: Jay Patterson

Q. Are there any surgical cures for retrograde ejaculation? This condition was caused by abdominal surgery that I had. Some semen comes out, but very little. I am very interested in having this condition surgically corrected. Is it possible? A. Normally, when you ejaculate, a muscle contracts to close off the entrance to the bladder, forcing the semen to shoot out the end of the penis. But if the muscle fails to close properly, the sperm enter the bladder instead — a condition called retrograde ejaculation. Causes include genital tract surgery or problems with the nerves. Men with this condition…

Q. Whenever my boyfriend comes, he gets a burning feeling at the head of his penis. It is extremely painful for him. He says it doesn’t go away unless he tries to have a bowel movement, which it makes him feel like he has to do. He says that the pain goes from the head of his penis to his anus. He also says it feels a little better if he put something cold on his penis. Do you know what this might be? I hate to see him in such pain. A. Pain in the penis after ejaculation usually…

Q. I am a 55-year-old uncircumcised male. Recently, I have developed small tears in my foreskin that are quite painful. Their appearance does not seem to correlate with my sexual activity. Gold Bond cream has been somewhat helpful in healing the areas. Aquaphor or petroleum-based products seem to make the problem worse. What could be causing this problem? A. Many uncircumcised men suffer from phimosis, a condition characterized by tightening of the foreskin such that when it is retracted it cracks. These cracks become infected, which leads to swelling and pain. The result is a vicious cycle — more shrinking…

Q. I had a penile implant some months ago, and since then, I really have no feeling in the penis and do not ever have a climax. Is there some kind of a medication or something that can be applied to the penis to bring back feeling? A. Your problem is quite interesting. I am assuming you had normal sensation and ejaculations before the surgery. If this assumption is correct, then I can think of one possibility, depending on how the device was placed. If a penile prosthesis is implanted using an infrapubic approach (that is, it is put in…

Q. About three or four weeks ago while having sex, with me on top, my boyfriend’s penis slipped out and I came down on it, bending it with my weight. Of course he has been in pain since then. He still gets erections and has orgasms, but he complains of dull pain while having sex (unless we are moving slow and carefully). He compares it to the feeling of pulling a groin muscle. Do you know what has been damaged and what he should do about it? How long will it likely take to heal? Can there be long-term problems…

Q. My husband had many surgeries as a child for his hypospadias. We have been trying for a year to get pregnant. I have been checked out and I am OK. Today, the doctors say that hypospadias is not a problem. But 28 years ago, it was really different. Can he still have kids? I don’t know if they still do the same surgery today or not. A. Hypospadias is a condition where the urethral meatus (opening) is not on the tip of the penile glans; instead, the opening occurs on the ventral side (bottom or underside) of the penis.…

Q. I have a hairy penis. How do I remove the hair from it? A. Hair on the genitals is common and not a medical problem. If you find it bothersome, however, you may have it removed permanently by electrolysis — the same procedure used for hair removal on the legs. This procedure can be done in a dermatologist’s office. Each hair is grasped with tweezers that have electric current going through them. The electric current is used to kill the root of the hair to prevent the hair from coming back. The process is not painless, but other methods…

Q. I am an uncircumcised male. During an erection, my foreskin is tight and will not move and expose my penis. Is this normal, or are there any ways to cure this? A. You are describing a condition called phimosis, in which the foreskin cannot be retracted behind the glans penis (head of the penis). Normally, the foreskin is loose and can be retracted for proper hygiene. However, when there is scarring of the foreskin, it contracts over time and becomes tight, preventing easy retraction. I am sure this is uncomfortable while you are erect. In fact, phimosis often doesn’t…

Q. My boyfriend is uncircumcised. Recently half of his penis came out of the uncircumcised area. Now the head is out, and right after the head there is an extra piece of flesh that looks like a ring. He says it hurts from that “ring” to the front of the head. What is happening? Is he still uncircumcised A. This is a common problem for uncircumcised men. We refer to it as paraphimosis. You see what happens when the foreskin is pulled back behind the head of the penis (the glans) — it can get stuck there in the tight…

Q. My male partner has a very strong fishy odor. He is uncircumcised. Could this be a sexually transmitted disease, or just a bacterial infection from not being circumcised? Should I ask him about the odor, or will that just make him feel bad? What’s the risk of me getting whatever he has? A. Uncircumcised men can accumulate glandular secretions under the foreskin that smell. These secretions can accumulate in as little as one day; when the foreskin is retracted, the residue appears whitish in color. Such secretions are commonly referred to as smegma. The odor does not mean there…