The case against neonatal circumcision

Britisch Medical Journal, Volume 1: Page 1423, 26 May 1979.

Sir,—I have recently retired from some 15 years as the part-time medical officer of a large boys’ school. Having read your leading article (5 May, p 1163) about circumcision I regret that I did not keep statistics and that a clinical impression will have to suffice.

At school entry at age 11, very few (other than Jews) had been circumcised. Quite a lot, between 10% and 40% had foreskins which would not easily retract. None of these had any history of pain or difficulty in micturition. I watched the first batches annually and anxiously, but soon learnt that by age 14 or 15 nearly all had become normally retractable. I only recall two circumcisions, with an annual intake of about 100. Obviously nearly all of those had preputial adhesions and no phimosis. Probably a vigorous and painful examination at the age of 11 would have found the rare true phimosis sooner. I thought, and still think, it unjustifiable and indeed contraindicated. What are the experiences of other school medical officers?

E B Grogono

Woodford Green, Essex 1G8 9QJ

Citation:

Grogono EB. The case against circumcision. Br Med J 1979;1:1423.

The Circumcision Information and Resource Pages are a not-for-profit educational resource and library. IntactiWiki hosts this website but is not responsible for the content of this site. CIRP makes documents available without charge, for informational purposes only. The contents of this site are not intended to replace the professional medical or legal advice of a licensed practitioner.