Surgery was a snip until doctor raised the bill

What do you do if, halfway through your circumcision, the doctor announces that the bill is going to increase eight-fold? 20-year-old Mr Ding, in Chengdu, China, found out the hard way. Read the story here.

Source: The Times, 27th December.

Thanks to Tom for sending us the story.

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Parents should not be allowed to make this decision, says Ethics Board

The Danish Medical Association said it had considered suggesting a legal ban on the procedure for children under the age of 18, because it believed circumcision should be "an informed, personal choice" that young men make for themselves. The fact that some of these uncircumcised boys will die as a result, long before they reach the age of 18, seems to carry no weight.

So just when did Danish doctors decide that politico-religious considerations took precedence over the best health outcomes for their patients? Even they seem to admit that infant circumcision has real health benefits. That doctors should put racial and religious prejudices before the health of their patients is, frankly, appalling.

Source: The Independent, Dec 7th. This sparked critical comment in the Huffington Post.

Thanks to Tom for the information.

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New paper sparks debate

In October Brian Morris and colleagues published a paper in the Canadian Journal of Urology criticizing the recent statement by the Canadian Pediatric Society on circumcision. Read the abstract here. This sparked considerable debate in the press, with two articesl in the National Post, an October 13th one by Sharon Kirkey and a very pro-circumcision piece by Barbara Kay three days later. It also featured on Radio Canada.

Thanks to Brian Morris and Tom for the information.

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Recent study shows a huge increase

A 2013 thesis presented to the Free University of Brussels studied rates of pediatric circumcision in Belgium and found that they are going up and up. At the present trend 31% of boys will be circumcised by age 16. Interestingly, the major reason given is parental request, while the rates for phimosis are decreasing. Maybe this just means that doctors are more willing to do the operation so parents no longer have to claim phimosis. You can read the thesis here. Look out for a Belgium page soon!

Thanks to AM for discovering this.

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Trump statue exceeds expectation

The life-size Trump statue "The Emperor has no Balls" (see 11th October and 20th August items) sold for $22,000 at Julien's Auctions on Saturday October 22nd. Los Angles gallerist Matt Kennedy had 'rescued' the piece from the city authorities and put it up for auction. Part of the proceeds are going to support the National Immigration Forum, an immigrant advocacy organization.

Story from Artnet.

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The Emperor - up for grabs

One of the fibreglass life-size Trump statues "The Emperor has no Balls" (see the 20th August item) had now come up on the auction market, at Julien's Auctions: Street Art Evening Sale. This is the one which was originally placed on Hollywood Boulevard - the fate of the others is unclear. Estimated price is $10,000 - 15,000 US, with bidding starting at $5,000. Read about it - and bid - in the Artsy online magazine.

The Flemish circumcision sculpture in our 15th September news item didn't sell, so it could still become yours. Meanwhile AM reports on another piece, a 17th century Italian gilded copper relief estimated at a modest £800 - 1,200, being sold by Sothebys in London. View it at Invaluable.

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Does Obama have a foreskin?

Canadian satirical magazine Lapine (female rabbit) has a hilarious article on Trump's views on circumcision. Read it here but don't take it too seriously!

Thanks to AM for the information.

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17th century carving up for auction

A german auction house, Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen Düsseldorf, is offering a 42 cm high wooden sculpture of the Circumcision of Christ dating from early 17th century Antwerp. Estimated price is €6,000 - 6,600 which seems very reasonable if the date is genuine. The auction is 24th September but it is available for online bidding at Live Auctioneers. No bids at the time of posting. Go to the site even if you don't want to bid - there's a very good picture of the sculpture (click to get it full size.)

Thanks to AM for the information.

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Tireless circumcision advocate dies at 91

Edgar J. Schoen (August 10, 1925 – August 23, 2016) was Chair of the 1989 American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Circumcision. His influence was very important in getting the medical benefits of circumcision recognized again in the face of considerable opposition. You can read his obituary here.

Thanks to Brian Morris for passing on the sad news.

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French manufacturer responds to market changes

French condom manufacturer Polidis has realised that a growing number of its clients do not have foreskins and have launched a new model for them, Reflex Condoms CIRCUM'SIZE. Details at their website. Which leads to the question, do any US manufacturers market models for uncircumcised men?

Thanks to Willem for this story.

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Uganda promotes circumcision festival as tourist attraction

In Uganda mass circumcision ceremonies, "Embalu", for boys aged between 10 and 18, are held every second year. The boys are painted white for the elaborate ceremony. Now the Ugandan Tourist Board has decided to make this a tourist attraction. It is hoped that the extra money raised will enable the circumcisers to perform the operation in more hygenic conditions. Read the story here.

Thanks to Tom for this story.

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Life-size Donald Trump statues placed in public places

On the morning of Thursday 18th August life-size and very unflattering statues of Trump appeared in 5 US cities. They were installed by an artist collective called INDECLINE and were sculpted by a Las Vegas artist known as Ginger whose normal business is making models for fairground horror rides. The penis is small but very definitely circumcised, and testicles are absent.

Sadly, the statues were swiftly removed. A New York parks department spokesman said "NYC Parks stands firmly against any unpermitted erection in city parks, no matter how small." Perhaps an unfortunate choice of words.

You can read the whole story in the Washington Post. You will have to scroll down to the video to see the parts in question - all the still photos have them discreetly covered.

A must-see video clip

A hilarious scene from the current movie Bad Mothers, where they discuss uncircumcised penises. Watch it here.

Thanks to Brian Morris for the link.

Pretend doctor injures boy

It is the circumcision season in Africa, and sadly scams are still common. A Kenyan family decided to have their 15-year-old circumcised by a doctor rather than a traditional circumciser. Unfortunately the 'doctor' was a fake and nearly severed the boy's penis. The boy is recovering in hospital - the 'doctor' has gone into hiding. Read the full story here.

Thanks to Tom for the information.

But tribe insists on sticking to tradition

Today, in Bungoma County, South Africa, is the start of a circumcision festival in which 2,000 12-year-olds will submit to the knife. But the Bukusu tribe will not accept modern methods, insisting that to preserve their traditions the cut must be done their way, and it is an essential part of a boy's initiation that he learns to endure pain. At least by doing it at age 12 it will still provide effective protection from AIDS. Reader Alastair has pointed that this is incorrect - Bungoma County is in Uganda. The news site which this story originally linked to has been taken down, for obvious reasons.

Thanks to Tom for the information.

200,000 Prepex circumcisions performed

Prepex announced that in July they passed a total of 200,000 circumcisions carried out with their device. No mention of whether the lucky client was given a cake!

Source Prepex Newsletter #19.

Advertising agency wins award for circumcision campaign

Brothers for Life and Joe Public United have been awarded a Sustain Bronze APEX award for their successful campaign to increase public awareness of the benefits of circumcision. It has been instrumental in raising the circumcision rate in South Africa from 37% to 70%. (This reads very strangely to the editor, since here in Australia Brothers for Life is an outlaw motorbike gang!) Read the full story here.

Thanks to Tom for the information.

Circumcision: Why it May Be as Important as Vaccines to Your Child's Health

American pediatrican Anthony Chin presents a strong argument in favour of circumcision in the online magazine US News & World Report. He does stress that it is in the end up to the parents to decide but he wants to make sure that parents are fully informed about the benefits. Read the full story here.

Thanks to Tom for the information.

One size fits all

A new, experimental, circumcision device has been published which aims to provide a simple circumcision of adult men without any ring remaining on the penis. It has a basic resemblance to the Gomco but sutures are used and the wide range of sizes needed for other devices is eliminated because it is adjustable. Read the full paper here. It looks very promising - simple and foolproof - but surely smaller sizes will be needed for boys.

Thanks to JH for the information.

Gold Innovation Lions Award at Cannes

On June 23rd, when the eyes of the world were focussed on a rather different event, Circ MedTech received a prestigious Gold Innovation Lions Award for their their PrePex circumcision device in the Innovative Technology category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Read more here and watch a video of the presentation.

Bohra Muslim leader speaks out on clitoral hood removal

Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, leader of the Bohra community (an Indian Shia Muslim sect) has called on the community to respect laws banning female circumcision if they live in a country with such laws. But in a country with no such laws, such as India, they should respect tradition and remove the female prepuce. (And only the prepuce). Read more here and here.

Thanks to Tom for the report

Cancer patient gets new member

Back on 25th February we reported that Johns Hopkins Hospital in the US was planning a penis transplant, but they have been beaten to it by Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Thomas Manning, a 64-year-old who'd had his penis amputated because of cancer, was given a replacement from a cadaver matched for skin tone and blood type. Now penile cancer only affects uncircumcised men .... we hope they had the sense to give him a circumcised replacement.

Source New Scientist, 23rd May, page 7

Does circumcision increase the risk of autism?

Time magazine reports that Danish anti-circumcision campaigner Morten Frisch claims that boys circumcised in infancy are more likely to be diagnosed as autistic by age 9. They also point out that circumcision rates have been falling in Australia since the 1960's while autism diagnoses have been rising... See the article at Time magazine.

Thanks to Tom (again) for the information

Studies Say Yes!

US online magazine Parent Herald reports on statements made by Professor Aaron E. Carroll of the Indiana University School of Medicine, essentially reporting on the benefits of circumcision which most readers of the site will already know. See the article at Parent Herald magazine.

Thanks to Tom for the information

The Accucirc device.

African circumcisions are traditionally carried out around the age of puberty, but the World Health Organization is making a strong push for neonatal circumcision to better curb the spread of AIDS. The Accucirc device, a disposable instrument designed solely for neonatal circimcision, is now being widely trialled in African countries for this purpose. (The device is described in our Techniques page). See the report from the East African newspaper.

Thanks to Tom for the information

Jennifer Bossio's paper

The paper "Examining Penile Sensitivity in Neonatally Circumcised and Intact Men Using Quantitative Sensory Testing" by Bossio, Pukall in Steele in Journal of Urology has been around for months as a preprint and has been much discussed in the groups. It found no difference in sensitivity between neonatally circumcised and uncircumcised men. Now it is formally published the journal has sent out a press release which has been picked up in the mainstream newspapers, and caused quite a stir. The New York Times headlined it cautiously as 'Circumcision may not decrease sensitivity' while the UK Daily Mail was more emphatic 'Circumcision does NOT reduce sensitivity of the penis' (their capitals). There are others, particularly in the US, so you may already have read it over your morning coffee.

Thanks to Ben and Tom for the information

The Henry apparatus

I can't really call this a clamp, it's a Chinese device of fearsome complexity which clamps, cuts and staples the wound closed all in one go. It is intended for adult circumcision and the benefits claimed for it, as compared to 'ring' devices, are no necrotising tissue and no remaining ring to cause discomfort during erections. A recent Chinese study (curiously published in a Brazilian journal) compared it with conventional circumcision and found that it was quicker and patients preferred it. Disadvantages were cost - over $200 for a disposable device - and the fact that a subsequent visit was needed to remove the staples. It seems to be still a work in progress but I'll add full details to the Instruments and Techniques page at a later date.

The paper is open access - read it at PubMed Central.

Thanks to Jason F-C for the information

Well, not for him - he's doubtless already done!

Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, converted to Judaism when she married Jared Kushner, a real-estate millionaire. To say they are a picture-book couple would be an understatement. Ivanka had a son, born last Sunday, so today is the day for the bris milah or ritual circumcision. Whether Donald can pull himself away from his campaign schedule to attend is not clear. As a gentile, he cannot play a major part in the ceremony.

To read more go to the USA Today report.

Thanks to Tom for the information

Helmet or Hoodie?

An Australian survey, Helmet or Hoodie, presented results from a survey of 500 men. 41.5% were natural, and 58.5% were circumcised. Most were happy with their status.

To find out more go to the Helmet or Hoodie survey.

Thanks to Brian Morris for the information

One of the UK's largest male circumcision clinics is facing a protest by campaigners who claim the procedure amounts to 'child abuse'.

Justice for Men and Boys – a group which says it advocates for the rights of males – will demonstrate outside Thornhill Clinic, Luton, on March 22, in opposition to what it calls the 'mutilation' of boys. J4MB leader Mike Buchanan told the Luton News: "The whole point is to take away material that contact nerves and give pleasure to men during sex." (Er what? Maybe try that one again.)

In a statement Thornhill Clinic said: "Our fully trained doctors have performed several thousand operations and are very skilled, experienced and above all provide the very highest standards of professional care. Our presence gives parents and communities the option to use a registered and reputable clinic to have their sons circumcised. This in turn will stop the many home circumcisions that are currently taking place in and around the UK; the home is an unsafe environment to carry out this or any operation."

Read more at Luton Today.

Thanks to Tom for the information

Breaking News at Newsmax.com

Circumcision is a decision made for many different reasons including religion, culture, hygiene, and aesthetics. However, recent research has indicated a link between prostate health and circumcision. Circumcision has long been linked to a decreased risk of developing certain STDs, including HIV/AIDS. While there has been a long debate about the benefits and risks associated with circumcision, research is now linking it with a potential decrease in risk for prostate cancer, the second-most common cancer affecting American men. Read more at Newsmax

Thanks to Tom for the information

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"Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital are only waiting for a suitable donor to perform the first American penis transplant. The recipient will be a soldier injured in combat. If it is a success, there about 60 others waiting their turn. There are no plans to offer the procedure to civilians. Read more at Scientific American.

The world's first (and only) successful penis transplant was performed in South Africa in 2014, and its success was proven when the recipient fathered a child soon after the surgery, as reported in this column. However, that involved just the penis, and many war veterans have more extensive injuries which will make the American operations rather more complex.

Thanks to Brian Morris for the information

"Hitler suffered from a condition called hypospadias which left him with an abnormally small manhood, according to historians Jonathan Mayo and Emma Craigie". This comes two months after another historian claimed to have verified the popular claim that Hitler only had one ball. (Older folks will remember the song, to the tune of Colonel Bogey). Read the story here.

The Telegraph embroiders the story a bit, claiming that Hitler had a micropenis, and that he had to urinate through an opening at the base of his penis. Mayo and Craigie say, more acccurately, that the opening is on the underside of the penis - it can be anywhere from close to the tip down to the base. See our Hypospadias page. There is no particular association between hypospadias and micropenis, but it is associated with chordee, penile curvature, which will deform the penis, so the latter seems more probable.

Thanks to Brian Morris for the information

"Why every man SHOULD be circumcised: Minor op 'reduces transmission of STDs, lowers the risk of penis cancer and boosts fertility". That is the striking headline of a Daily Mail article today. Californian sexual health expert Dr Paul Turek explained why adult circumcision is on the rise. The medical benefits listed will be familiar to readers of Circlist, but it is good to see them spelled out in a mass-circulation newspaper. Turek also made it clear that although adult circumcision is becoming more popular, the best time for the operation, by far, is in infancy.

Read more ...

Thanks to Tom for the information

A group of New York doctors has introduced the idea of injecting prostaglandin into the corpora cavernosa of the penis to produce an erection before carrying out the procdure. They claim that it gives a more predictable result, though it is unlikely to give a very tight cut. One interesting point they make is that 12% of adult men requesting circumcision are doing so at the request of their female partner!

The paper is at present an epub ahead of print in the rather obscure journal Urologica Internationalis, and you can find it here. Reading the full article requires payment, but you can view the first page as a downloadable jpeg.

Thanks to both Brian Morris and LeXip for bringing this to my attention.

Dr Manohar Singh, 70, a GP in Birkby, West Yorkshire, UK, is accused of badgering a patient into having her sons circumcised by him. The General Medical Council says: "The tribunal will inquire into the allegation that, between March 2012 and March 2013, Dr Singh saw Patient A and her sons on various occasions for the purposes of medical appointments. It is alleged that, in the course of these appointments, Dr Singh repeatedly pressed Patient A to have her sons circumcised by him and informed Patient A that he would make a charge for undertaking a circumcision." The implication appears to be that he needed the money, since the practice was failing. Dr Singh said: "I have done nothing wrong. The truth will come out." Absent from the report was any evidence of whether the two boys needed to be circumcised. Presumably this will be his defence. But the doctor has a history of problems with the regulatory authorities. Read the full report in The Huddersfield Daily Examiner . Thanks to AM for sending this item.