Circumcision

Here’s a little tip when it comes to circumcision (see what I did there?): there is no wrong or right answer when it comes to deciding if this procedure is right for your family. The official guidance for circumcision from the American Academy of Pediatrics can best be summed up as, “Meh, do it if you want.” Nowadays, about half of males are circumcised. The vast majority of those who are circumcised are done so due to cultural or religious reasons or because their dad was circumcised. There are a couple of health benefits associated with circumcision, but the health issues noted are rather rare in most first-world countries, so those should not be the only reason you are using to justify getting your kiddo circumcised or not. The health benefits often mentioned are that if you are circumcised, you pretty much eliminate your chances of penile cancer due to sexually transmitted infections, and you will never have a condition called phimosis where the foreskin is too tight to retract or paraphimosis where the foreskin gets stuck after being retracted. The latter is a medical/urologic emergency that can result in an emergent circumcision if the urologist is unable to get the foreskin back to its normal position. 

As far as the procedure itself, we do try to circumcise before the babies are 2 months of age. As over the centuries that the procedure has been done, the procedure is easier and better tolerated before 2 months with minimal sedation or anesthetic medicines than if we do the procedure past that age. Usually, the most fuss that we get from the little dudes has to do with us having to strap down their legs to prevent them from kicking during the procedure rather than the procedure itself. If a family decides to pursue circumcision later than 2 months of age, then that is usually taken care of by the urologist in a surgical center to allow for proper sedation and monitoring. Whoever performs the circumcision will go over their preferred topical antibiotic or protective ointment while the area heals. As the area heals, it will look infected, but it is not infected.  The glans of the penis will get this yellow-looking protective discharge that will then crust over, and the crust will flake off to reveal normal skin underneath. There can also be some blood spots after the procedure, but if it is more than a few spots, let your pediatrician know so they can do an exam to make sure that it is just from irritation and not from a blood vessel that needs a little more topical pressure to start scabbing over.