[Phimosis: when does it require surgical intervention?].

One of the most recurrent questions in pediatric age is the phimosis; this is a frequently underestimated problem and its resolution often cause a lot of discomforts in babies and parents. In many countries it has been treated on the roots of ancient sanitary measures (circumcision) whereas in others it's routinely treated with painful and useless maneuvers; instead, until three years of age this don't represents a problem but the normal situation of the baby. Herein the authors report the results of topic corticosteroid treatment of fimosis in 83 patients aged 1-14 years, with good outcome in 86.7% of cases. Therapy and results are discussed.