THEY are the men on a mission to restore their foreskins.

Thousands of circumcised men in Australia and overseas have formed a community devoted to restoring what they have lost and getting their foreskin back.

The why and how might not be safe reading for work. It involves weights - read below.

But many men said they have experienced emotional difficulties because of their parents' decision to have them circumcised.

Users are congregating on forums such as foreskin-restoration.net and circumstitions.com, The Kernel online magazine reports, and many say they are angry about their condition.

One user explained the feelings he had experienced thinking about it: "I have been looking into what was stolen from me for a couple months now.

"It's always on my mind, I just revolve between being crushed emotionally and being soooo f---ing mad I start twitching.

"I just want to curl up into a ball and disappear. This is the most shameful/angry/sad/hateful/depressing feeling I've ever had."

Others find the event has ostracised them from their parents.

The user Suicidal123: "I hate them. They think ignorance is an excuse. If they hadn't ruined my life in many other ways, maybe I could have forgiven them, but it's like they deliberately had me so they could destroy me."

Paul Mason, a former children's commissioner who is one of the country's foremost opponents of circumcision said many Australians have joined the movement.

"There are thousands of men around the world and here, who are trying to recreate the foreskin experience by stretching the skin of their shaft down over the end of their penis," said Mr Mason, who has founded a circumcision organisation called the Australasian Institute for Genital Autonomy, for men who want to be able to choose whether they are circumcised or not.

Just 10 to 20 per cent of Australians babies are circumcised according to the latest figures.

In a piece for News Corp Australia last year, mental health worker Elwyn Moir, who said he wanted his foreskin back, explained the restoration process in detail.

Mr Moir wrote: "Restoration is an elaborate and demanding process, requiring a man to attach a device which gently grips the remaining foreskin on the shaft of the penis and apply tension by hanging weights or stretching an elastic strap from it to their thighs or shoulders."

"This must be done for several hours most days for three to five years, the equipment must be hygienic and the process is often supplemented with limited use of a prescribed steroid cream to encourage the targeted cells to multiply.

"The whole process demands dedication, discipline and a constantly stable home life," he said. It does not replace circumcised foreskin.

But the country's top doctor, Steve Hambleton from the Australian Medical Association, said restoring a foreskin would be difficult.

He was unaware of whether there was surgical method but said that would be dangerous.

"It would be very difficult ... because you're trying to restore some quite flexible elastic tissue and in general that's the most difficult job."

Worse, any surgical operation may result in an scarred penis.

"With an operation in any location you're likely to get scarring and shortening," Dr Hambleton said. "You're asking for trouble, basically."

If you or someone you know may be at risk contact Lifeline 13 11 14, beyondblue 1300 22 46 36, or Salvo Care Line 1300 36 36 22.

Have you experienced something like this? Email news@news.com.au

###