Circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin. The foreskin is a flap of skin that covers the tip of the penis.
CircumcisionCopyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc. |
The procedure may be done for cultural or religious reasons. It is often done on babies in the first few days of life.
There may be some health benefits from circumcision. It may be linked to a decreased risk of:
Problems are rare, but all procedures have some risk. Some may be:
The baby's penis will be examined before the procedure.
One of 2 types of anesthesia may be used:
The baby will need to be very still. He may be held down on an infant board or someone will hold the baby. The anesthesia will be applied.
The procedure will begin when the penis is numb. The foreskin will be pulled away from the penis. It will then be cut away with a scalpel or special clamp.
Stitches may be needed. They will be used to sew the remaining bit of foreskin into place. Petroleum jelly or an antibiotic ointment will be smeared on the penis. A bandage may be applied. A Plastibell device, if used, will be left in place instead of a bandage. The Plastibell will fall off on its own.
About 15 to 30 minutes
Anesthesia prevents pain during the procedure.
Swelling and scabbing is normal. The circumcision site should heal in about 10 days. If used, the Plastibell will fall off in the same time frame.
Call your child's doctor if your child is not recovering as expected or your child has:
If you think your child has an emergency, call for medical help right away.
Family Doctor—American Academy of Family Physicians
https://familydoctor.org
Kids Health—Nemours Foundation
http://kidshealth.org
About Kids Health—The Hospital for Sick Children
http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca
Caring for Kids—Canadian Paediatric Society
http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca
Circumcision. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: https://www.dynamed.com/procedure/circumcision. Updated August 8, 2019. Accessed January 13, 2020.
Circumcision. Family Doctor—American Academy of Family Physicians website. Available at: https://familydoctor.org/circumcision. Updated April 22, 2019. Accessed January 13, 2020.
Circumcision. Healthy Children—American Academy of Pediatrics website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Updated March 12, 2013. Accessed January 13, 2020.
Circumcision. Kids Health—Nemours Foundation website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Updated June 2016. Accessed January 13, 2020.
WHO guideline on use of devices for adult male circumcision for HIV prevention can be found at WHO 2013 Oct PDF.
Last reviewed September 2019 by
EBSCO Medical Review Board
Kari Kassir, MD
Last Updated: 10/16/2020