Changes

After [[circumcision]] and the loss of the protective [[foreskin]], a child who is not toilet-trained persistently exposes the meatus to urine, resulting in inflammation (ammoniacal dermatitis) and mechanical trauma as the meatus rubs against a wet diaper (nappie). This causes the loss of the delicate epithelial lining of the distal urethra. This loss may result in adherence of the epithelial lining at the ventral side, leaving a pinpoint orifice at the tip of the glans. Because this condition is exceedingly rare in [[intact ]] children, circumcision is believed to be the most important causative factor of meatal stenosis.

Another hypothetical cause of this condition is ischemia due to damage to the frenular artery during [[circumcision]], resulting in poor blood supply to the meatus and subsequent stenosis. In a prospective study of circumcised boys, [[Robert S. Van Howe|Van Howe]] (2006) found meatal stenosis in 24 of 239 (7.29%) children older than 3 years, making meatal stenosis the most common complication of circumcision.<ref>{{REFjournal