easier to dismiss their pain [7]. Some doctors minimize Introduction circumcision pain by calling it ‘discomfort’ or comparing it to the pain of an injection, although these opinions have From a global perspective, most of the world does not practise circumcision; over 80% of the world’s males are been refuted by empirical studies [8]. Anatomical, neurochemical, physiological and behavintact (n...

872 CMAJ, April 19, 2011, 183(7) © 2011 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors The most commonly performed surgical procedure in the world — male circumcision — is done for therapeutic, prophylactic, religious, cultural and social reasons. Discussions of male infant circumcision for health reasons are always split. Proponents suggest there are significant potential health benefits includ...

In many developing countries, male circumcision has been promoted as an effective HIV prevention strategy, and medical randomized controlled trials have indeed shown a causal link. However, there is limited empirical evidence to support this conclusion in countries where individuals can voluntary opt for different types of circumcision. The present study considers male circumcision in Lesotho, ...

OBJECTIVE Male circumcision has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV acquisition among heterosexual men but the impact among men who have sex with men (MSM) is not known. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of research into circumcision for HIV prevention among MSM in Scotland. METHODS Anonymous, self-complete questionnaires and Orasure oral fluid collection kits were distributed to men...

Objective: Circumcision has been described as the most commonly performed surgical operation in the boys and is probably the oldest surgical procedure in man. This prospective study was aimed at establishing the pattern, treatment outcome and cost of major complications of neonatal circumcision seen in a tertiary center in Nigeria. Methods: Consecutive cases of complications of circumcision pre...

Circumcision is one of the oldest and most commonly performed surgical procedures. Unfortunately, various complications may occur during circumcision, ranging from trivial to tragic such as penile amputation which is a serious complication and a challenging injury to treat. We describe two cases of non-microsurgical successful reattachment of a distal penile glans which were amputated during ci...

Training designed to improve circumcision knowledge, attitude and practice was delivered over 5 days to 34 traditional surgeons and 49 traditional nurses in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Training included the following topics: initiation rites; statutory regulation of traditional male circumcision and initiation into Manhood (TCIM); structure and function of the male sex organs; procedure of ...

CONTEXT Randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that male circumcision reduces men's risk of contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection during heterosexual intercourse. Less is known about whether male circumcision provides protection against HIV infection among men who have sex with men (MSM). OBJECTIVES To quantitatively summarize the strength of the a...

This article offers a critique of the recently revised BMA guidance on routine neonatal male circumcision and seeks to challenge the assumptions underpinning the guidance which construe this procedure as a matter of parental choice. Our aim is to problematise continued professional willingness to tolerate the non-therapeutic, non-consensual excision of healthy tissue, arguing that in this conte...