Preputioplasty as a surgical alternative in treatment of phimosis

Preputioplasty denotes various surgical techniques directed at resolving phimosis without the need for radical or partial circumcision. This narrative review summarizes the best-known surgical techniques of preputioplasty. A MEDLINE and EMBASE-based literature search of original manuscripts and case reports published in English has been carried out using the following key words: "circumcision", "partial circumcision", "phimosis", "paraphimosis", and "preputioplasty". Six different procedures are explored in more detail and illustrated. The complication rates of all surgical procedures presented here are reported to be low. In cases of medical (rather than cultural and religious) indications, foreskin-preserving procedures present useful alternatives to circumcision in the routine clinical practice of urologists and pediatric surgeons.