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I know nothing about the Pearly Papules, other than what Will said.

However, I *do* know about adult circumcision. When I was 30 (and after considerable deliberation) I opted to get circumcised. Allow me to share my experience and thoughts, if I may. I'm 41 now, and have very few regrets.

- Get more than one opinion. I ended up getting referred from my GP to a urologist. Being an avid online chatter (IRC, Dalnet), I've chatted with one RL nurse who was aghast that I'd gone to a urologist for this procedure, that she would recommend a plastic surgeon in a heartbeat.

- Make sure you've pulled back your foreskin (with an erection) and played with the excess tissue, to get an idea of how much skin will be removed. Take note: You do NOT want the remaining skin to be as taut as a drumskin!

- Discuss with the various surgeons (remember, more than one opinion, right?) where they plan to make the cuts, how much they plan to remove, even what surgical tool they plan to use. I didn't do this; as a result, I'm convinced that my surgeon did the cuts freehand, with a scalpel, while practicing how to do a new dance step, all while dealing with a freak earthquake. Not that this actually happened, but the cut was so jagged... bah. Although, I'm pretty sure he did the cut freehand. *sigh* Originally, he wanted to make the cut *right below the glans*, intending to hide the resulting scar as much as possible. Thankfully he didn't, leaving that sweet, sensitive area about an inch behind the glans intact. While you're talking with the surgeon, if he plans to do it freehand, ask him if he plans to first mark up where the cuts will be, and add some sort of 'alignment marks' to ensure that the sheath doesn't get rotated several degrees before being sutured closed again (as is what happened to me).

- Do some web searches for both "circumcision" and "clamp", and you should be able to find at least 2 of the specialty devices (and perhaps others) that are, or have been, in common usage for doing circumcisions (at least in babies).

- Do another web search for something called a "PlastiBell". This is another variation on circumcision. I don't know if it's always done this way, but I remember, years ago on Usenet, reading one guy's story about getting his circumcision done (as an adult), and the surgeon merely pulled back his foreskin, slipped on the PlastiBell, rolled his foreskin over it, then tightly tied something (suture?) around the base of the foreskin-covered PlastiBell, thus forcing a ligature over time. He said that his foreskin fell off after about 2 weeks.

- Before actually getting the surgery, try to spend a month with your foreskin rolled back at all times, just to get used to the feeling of having your glans exposed. If you're like me, at first it'll feel really weird, and definitely overly sensitive, and you'll walk a bit gingerly. Don't worry, as that will go away with time. You may find your foreskin rolling itself back over your glans now and again; at your earliest convenience (eg, washroom break), pull it back. If it's being really stubborn, and insists on rolling back over the glans, maybe go to the drugstore and pick up some of that tape that's used for gauze bandages to hold things in position (remember to dry things up before applying). Trust me on this prep: Post-op, you'll be walking a bit gingerly anyway; you might as well get past the hurdle of having a nekkid glans. :P

I'm not sure if I've covered off every point that I wanted to, but if you (or anyone) have any questions, fire away.

Oh, I should also mention that I'm 41 now, and that I got a vasectomy when I was 38. I was so skittish about attempting the vasectomy with a local anaesthetic, that the surgeon finally suggested scheduling day surgery at the local hospital, and getting it done under a general. I was eternally thankful for that. And to this day, I can see that I was far less concerned about the circumcision than I was with the vasectomy. I realize that not all men are as skittish about getting a vasectomy as I was, but... there you have it.

And to reiterate once more, with feeling: Yes, I'm happy with my circumcision. :)