What Should an Adult Circumcision Scar Look Like?

As the founder of partially crowdsourced educational resource My Adult Circumcision, Matt, who uses a pseudonym, regularly finds his inbox filled with dick-related queries from men worldwide. Many of these questions are about scars, and they're driven by insecurity that their scars look somehow like they're "weird" or ugly.

First, a few caveats. It's often assumed the vast majority of circumcision procedures are neonatal, but a growing number of men are getting their foreskin cut later in life as an adult. Sometimes, this is for aesthetic reasons. Put simply, some guys just prefer the look of a cut cock, or enjoy that they're lower-maintenance than uncut dicks.

Circumcision can be sought out for religious and cultural reasons, too, but it's additionally recommended as a treatment for conditions such as phimosis (tight foreskin), balanitis (a penile infection) and even some forms of penile cancer.

What causes a circumcision scar?

According to David Cornell, M.D., an Atlanta-based surgeon and founder of the Circumcision Center, the "appearance of scarring is largely the result of technique."

A 2013 article published in the Journal of Surgical Technique and Case Report outlined the most common methods, beginning with the Mogen clamp. This is one of a few "shield and clamp" methods, which involve stretching the foreskin, clamping it down and then using a scalpel to cut the excess flesh. Unlike other circumcision methods, this doesn't involve stitching of any sort.

For circumcisions performed solely for medical reasons, surgeons are often more limited when it comes to choosing their preferred method.

"It all depends on the underlying issue they're trying to resolve," Matt explained. "I think aesthetically pleasing surgeries are more common in the private sector, where guys can pick and choose their own surgeon."

In his experience, patients like to do plenty of research.

"Nobody wants to end up with a mangled penis," he said, matter-of-factly.

Adult circumcision as an art form...scar included

Throughout his decades-long career, Cornell has met plenty of men unhappy with the initial results of their circumcision. Aesthetics are considered at his practice, to the extent the Circumcision Center's website describes the surgical procedure as an art. He uses the "sleeve resection" method, which he told me is "designed to result in minimal or no scarring."

This involves "incisions made with a scalpel in both the outer and mucosal surfaces of the foreskin," which allow for a neat, uniform circle of flesh to be removed. The raw edges are then stitched back together with "interrupted, fine, absorbable sutures."

Both Matt and Cornell advise looking at plenty of before-and-after images when researching circumcision, but these procedures still involve slicing and stitching flesh, so it's extremely common for at least a small scar to remain prevalent after healing.

"Any surgery tends to leave some scars—the extent just depends on the skill of the surgeon, as well as a patient's individual circumstances and aftercare," Matt clarified. Personally, he was "happy to have fairly nominal scarring, although I do have a few stitch marks that, in an ideal world, I would not have."

When it comes to scars, there's no such thing as "normal." It's common for cut cocks to vary slightly in color (usually, this fades over time), and the scar tissue can often appear slightly thicker than the rest of the skin on the shaft. Especially during the months immediately after circumcision, there's visible scarring where stitches were placed—if stitches were used.

Healing time differs based on the individual, but the key is not to worry and to stay on top of aftercare. This can include wearing supportive underwear to keep your junk in place, avoiding sex and dressing the wound, although surgeons will give comprehensive details on how best to do this.

'Any surgery tends to leave some scars—the extent just depends on the skill of the surgeon, as well as a patient's individual circumstances and aftercare.'

As for the appearance, penises generally appear bruised and swollen immediately after the procedure. When it comes to scarring, "an initial scar can form within a few weeks, but this can be fairly hard and inelastic," Matt explained. "Over the course of several months, it will soften and fade to become more like the skin around it."

According to Cornell, there's no demographic more likely to experience severe scarring than any other, but for people who truly hate the cosmetic results of their circumcision, revisions are possible.

In extremely rare cases, thick tissue growths—called keloids—can develop, but these aren't cancerous and can be removed through additional surgery. Seemingly, these have only been studied in a pediatric context, but even among newborns, they're exceedingly uncommon. In a 2019 study on post-circumcision keloids, published in the Arab Journal of Urology, researchers described the penile skin as one of the "least common sites" of keloid scars, with "only 11 cases of penile keloid described in the pediatric literature following circumcision."

Even cut cocks that are "two-toned" or visibly scarred usually pose zero cause for concern, but this doesn't stop men from sharing their insecurities online. According to Matt, this is symptomatic of the wider issue of penile insecurity across the board.

"A lot of guys are insecure about their penis in general, and that's often because most of them don't have that much experience with what a penis looks like—either cut or uncut."

Circumcision subreddits are filled with before-and-after photos, and any reputable surgeon will have various reference images to browse through. These dick pics are definitive proof that circumcision scars come in all shapes, sizes and locations (based on the choice of technique and site of incision), but there's no such thing as "normal."

"I do think guys overthink how their penis looks," Matt said, before concluding with a word of reassurance: "I've seen very, very few circumcisions that haven't resulted in an attractive penis."