While circumcision is generally considered to be a safe operation, complications can and do occur.
Circumcision Complications That Present In Infancy or Childhood
Haemmorhage
Due to the small quantity of blood a newborn possesses, even losing a few tablespoons of blood can warrant a blood transfusion.
Phimosis
The condition of having a non-retractable foreskin is actually perfectly normal, as the foreskin is attached to the penis at birth with adhesions called synechia. However, circumcision is often mistakenly performed to "correct" this condition. Ironically, circumcision may actually cause phimosis as the remnants of the foreskin attempt to readhere to the shaft, particularly when the penis becomes "trapped" during the procedure. 2.9% of patients in one study developed phimosis as a result of circumcision (Blalock HJ, Vemulakonda V, Ritchey ML, Ribbeck M. Outpatient management of phimosis following newborn circumcision. J Urol 2003;169(6):2332–4.).
Cicumcision Complications That May Not Present Until Adulthood
Hairy Shaft, Painful Erections and Curvature of the Penis
No doctor can determine exactly how much skin to remove from the infant penis to allow for comfort once the penis has grown to adult size. Removing too much skin in a "tight" circumcision can result in insufficient skin later in life. During erections, which may be uncomfortable or even painful, scrotal skin may be pulled forward onto the shaft of the penis to compensate for the lack of penile skin. A hairy shaft is generally considered unsightly and may cause discomfort during intercourse.
A similar complication occurs if skin is taken unevenly from the penis (most common with freehand circumcisions). A circumcision that is tighter or one side can result in the penis curving or bowing during erections upon adulthood.
Rare and Severe Circumcision Complications
Very occasionally circumcision results in devastating injuries or death. Some famous cases include:
- accidental amputation of the whole penis (as in the case of David Reimer) or the glans
- death by septicaemia resulting from circumcision
- necrosis, necrotising fasciitis and gangrene
- buried penis
- brain damage
Psychological and Sexual Complications of Circumcision
Loss of Sexual Sensitivity
The sexual effects of circumcision are profound and range from the keratinisation of the glans to a loss of 10,000-20,000 specialised nerve cells and the five most sensitive areas of the penis.
Decreased sexual sensitivity has been noted as a result of circumcision since routine infant circumcision was first popularised in America as a preventive for masturbation; this has been confirmed in recent studies (DaiSik Kim and Myung-Geol Pang, The effect of male circumcision on sexuality: BJU International Online 10.1111/j.1464-410X.2006.06646.x Volume 0 Issue 0; see also Morris L. Sorrells, James L. Snyder, Mark D. Reiss, Christopher Eden, Marilyn F. Milos, Norma Wilcox, Robert S. Van Howe, Fine-touch pressure thresholds in the adult penis: BJU International 99 (4), 864-869). Some men find sexual climax hard to achieve in later life due to progressive keratinisation. Some men also report feelings of inadequacy, anger, mutilation and betrayal upon learning that their genitals were modified without their consent (Boyle, G et al,Male Circumcision: Pain, Trauma and Psychosexual Sequelae: Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 7 Issue 3 (May 2002).).
In infants, circumcision has been linked to disrupting the early breastfeeding relationship and mother-baby bonding, a fact that has caused La Leche League International to speak out against routine infant circumcision. A study on pain response in newborns concluded that circumcision causes “an infant analogue of posttraumatic stress disorder” (Taddio, A., Koren G. et al. Effect of neonatal circumcision on subsequent pain response during subsequent routine vaccination. Lancet, Vol. 349: 599-603 [March 1, 1997]).
Sarah Tennant - Sarah Tennant is a onetime English major who lives in New Zealand with her husband and two small children. Her interests range from ...
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