Parents face so many difficult decisions when it comes to having a child: decisions about nursing, sleep patterns, discipline, teaching methods and, in the case of boys, whether or not to circumcise. In addition to being the most common surgery for males in the U.S., circumcision has been practiced in various cultures for centuries. Yet when it comes to the health and best interest of your newborn, is circumcision the way to go?
Professor of Molecular Medical Sciences
• For 1 in 500 circumcisions there may be either a little bleeding (easily stopped by pressure or, less commonly, requiring stitches (1 in 1,000)), the need for repeat surgery (1 in 1,000), or a generalized infection that will require antibiotics (1 in 4,000). Although there can be a local infection, often what seems like a local infection is actually part of the normal healing process.
• Serious complications (requiring hospitalization) are rare – approx. 1 in 5,000.
• Mutilation or loss of the penis, and death, is virtually unheard of with circumcisions performed by a competent medical practitioner.
• If a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia runs in the family, then the doctor needs to be advised as circumcision may require special pre-operative treatment.
• Anesthetic is imperative, preferably a local, since a general anesthetic carries risks, and is unnecessary. For age 0–4 months local, not general, and for older children or teenagers a mild sedative might be considered in addition to the local. Young children who wriggle can be gently restrained. For pain after the anesthetic wears off, an oral analgesic medication is often prescribed.
• Delay can mean stitches being used for circumcision of older children, teenagers and men, although tissue tape and glue are now available.
• If circumcision is delayed past 4 months, total cost will become increasingly greater.
• Proper scientific research shows there are no long-term adverse effects in the vast majority of males. Claims to the contrary reflect men who have been duped by anti-circumcision organizations into thinking their sexual problems have something to do with having been circumcised. This is ridiculous! Some of these groups convince men to restore a ‘foreskin’. This is a waste of time and can lead to mutilation of the penis. Be very wary of anti-circumcision propaganda.
Thus, benefits of circumcision exceed the risks by over a hundred to one. These days, the medical evidence is so strong that the decision to circumcise an infant boy really is a simple ‘no-brainer’ — Just seek a competent doctor and get it done!
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