The Circumcision Discussion

Specialties Ob/Gyn

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I know this can be a HUGE debate, and I'm not looking to start any arguments. I was just wondering as you are OB nurses. I'm expecting a boy in July and not sure if we should circ. or not. My husband says yes, it's better medically in the long run. My gpa who just turned 70 had to have a circ. due to endless complications lately.

As nurses in this area, is the medication that they use good? And what are some questions to ask my Dr. about it. I already know that my hospital i'll be at uses a med. when they perform it, I"m just wondering what you all think.

Thanks

Jen :)

http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/milos-macris/

I found this interesting

hiya

im not sure if anybody in the UK as posted here. in the UK circ is not offered unless the boy has a medical problems.

on my unit we get a lot of disabled children/boys who wear nappies. 90% are un-circ. the same for the babies. here in my experience it is unusual for boys to be circ for any other reasons than a medical reason. i asked my brothers if people were teased in the changing rooms about this he said

"nah, just get teased if your willy is small..." :confused: :o

so i think what ever you decide to do children will sadly find somthing to tease another child about :o

http://www.norm-uk.co.uk this is a good site

this is a subject i think about as my b/f is Turkish and thinks all boys should. i personally wouldnt want my son circ.

Ruby

I work with soldiers at a troop clinic. The majority of soldiers are circumcised. Some of them have chosen to have the circumcision as adults because of sanitation issues when they are out in the field (no showers, no way to "clean" the area). We have had quite a few uncirc'd soldiers with nasty infections because of these conditions. My boy's were circumcised because my husband (who is also a soldier) insisted on it, he believes that it will save them the trouble of getting it done AFTER they join the service.

Specializes in ER,Neurology, Endocrinology, Pulmonology.

sorry to stir up a touchy conversation again, but if men can not wash themselves when they are in the army, what about women?

Shouldn't they undergo vulvectomy for the same reasons?

Originally posted by Anagray

sorry to stir up a touchy conversation again, but if men can not wash themselves when they are in the army, what about women?

Shouldn't they undergo vulvectomy for the same reasons?

was kind of wondering about that myself ...

Specializes in Obstetrics, M/S, Psych.

Now we are getting silly.

A little silly maybe, but it is true that women are MUCH more prone to infection under the same conditions as men. There is a reason you don't see a lot of tv commercials for male hygeine products. By contrast I am sure most men are familiar with names like Monistat and Vasengill.

VASENGILL????

Specializes in Obstetrics, M/S, Psych.

Not that I think it's a good enough reason to circumcize, but men who aren't do tend to get yeast infections alot easier. Also, I would think removing the vulva would increase the chance of UTI, since the urethra is short and the vulva may protect it from micro organisms. Feminine hygeine products are bunk in my book anyway.

Specializes in ER,Neurology, Endocrinology, Pulmonology.

according to AMA article, it takes 100 to 200 infant circs to prevent 1 UTI.

The risk of "complications" from having a foreskin is low, so is the risk from the surgery. This is what a study published on AMA website says about complications from the surgery:

Two large series detected a complication rate between 0.2% and 0.6% in circumcised infants.28,29 Bleeding and infection, occasionally leading to sepsis, are the most common adverse events requiring treatment. In the majority of cases, bleeding is minor and hemostasis can be achieved by pressure application. Other untoward events can result from taking too much skin from the penile shaft causing denudation or rarely, concealed member, or from not removing sufficient foreskin, producing an unsatisfactory cosmetic result or recurrent phimosis.30,31 Other postoperative complications include formation of skin bridges between the penile shaft and glans, meatitis and meatal stenosis, chordee, inclusion cysts in the circumcision line, lymphedema, hypospadias and epispadias, and urinary retention.32 Case reports have associated circumcision with other rare but severe events including scalded skin syndrome, necrotizing fasciitis, sepsis and meningitis, urethrocutaneous fistulas, necrosis (secondary to cauterization), and partial amputation of the glans member. >>

An occasional UTI or a yeast infection ( which healthy men do not usually get) is treatable, but how do u "treat" a disfiguring surgery?

The possible sideffects of the surgery were good enough reason for us to pass.

I actually worked with a man, whose son almost died from circumcision complications. Needless to say that the rest of his boys were left intact.

I don't think a vulvectomy would help either. I think the point is would we encourage surgical procedures on girls if they reduced the number of yeast infections? Probably not, so it isn't a super compelling reason to do it for men. I still think circumcision is a personal choice dictated by emotions or customs. The scientific argument isn't really relevant.

Specializes in Obstetrics, M/S, Psych.
Originally posted by fergus51

I still think circumcision is a personal choice dictated by emotions or customs. The scientific argument isn't really relevant.

Agreed.

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