My wife had a baby boy last week and I’ve been hearing different “expert” views about the best time to circumcise him. Some people say it should be done during the first week of birth while others say it should be after one week. Doctor, is there a specific time for it? Are there any risk associated with late circumcision?
NHO Doctor says:
Congratulations to you and madam for a safe delivery.
The medical profession endorses male circumcision because of epidemiological and scientific reports which show that circumcised males don’t suffer from cancer of the penis and there is less incidence of cervical cancer (cancer of the neck of the womb) in their female sexual partners. Also, male circumcision ensures the ease of cleansing the male genitalia because the foreskin is removed during circumcision.
However, there is no medical indication for female circumcision. Whoever does this to females is unfairly mutilating the female genitalia. This can result in serious complications which can be fatal or cause chronic debility or complicate future sexual life and child birth.
Now to your question, there is no hard and fast rule about the time to circumcise a newborn male. Some parents will insist on the eighth day of birth because of religious dictates. Some doctors circumcise newborn males within the first week of delivery before the mother and the baby are discharged from the hospital. Many others consider that circumcision should be done after the first week. This is to allow for a few days after birth in which to observe the baby and ensure that it is stable after birth .
Circumcision is not an emergency procedure, so there’s no need to rush it within the first week.
The best time to circumcise a baby is dictated mostly by the desire to avoid complications and the need to avoid the use of general anaesthesia for the procedure. The foreskin of the penis of newborn babies is thinner and easier to excise without significant blood loss than the foreskin of the penis of older infants and children. Many doctors do not use anaesthesia for this procedure in newborn babies in this country.
However, for older infants and children, general anaesthesia may be necessary because the pain may be too intense for this group. The smaller infants may not need more than local anaesthesia for the procedure.
The main complication associated with late circumcision is the possibility of excessive bleeding which may require blood transfusion. This could be fatal if blood is not available. Also, the child may have to go under general anaesthesia for the procedure which could have been avoided if the procedure was done during the first few weeks of life.
In general, it is wise to circumcise males as newborn babies rather than as older infants or adolescent males.
