Tuesday 15 November 2011

Routine circumcision

Now this is one contentious subject and one which I know will draw fire from the wooly-jumper brigade, but I do support routine circumcision.

The reason I support this, is simple.  I watched my four year old son, suffer, for several months with phimosis.

Now those who have read my blog, will know that I was circumcised at a similar age and that I grew up being VERY resentful and angry at being "cut".

However, this opinion changed through a combination of my experiences with different sexual partners, maturity and most recently, through having to care for my son.

My son, Rhys, had difficulty in passing urine.  His foreskin was severely inflamed and it was necessary to take him to our GP, for a consultation.  Our GP, off the record of course (it is the NHS after all !), advised my wife and I that Rhys would probably have to be circumcised.

Despite accepting my own circumcision status, upon hearing our GP saying this, my heart sank.  I became upset and openly began to weep.  I immediately thought of the physical pain I felt, after the operation and the embarassment and exclusion I felt while growing up.  I did not want this for Rhys.

The GP telephoned the local hospital and arranged for Rhys to be assessed by the paediatric surgical team, on duty.

Upon arriving at the hospital, we had to wait several hours before Rhys was even seen to.  All the while, he was in pain and unable to pass urine properly (save for a slight dribble; even this caused his foreskin to "baloon").

The surgical registrar finally arrived and without going into too much detail (as this is a civil case which is still active), the registrar caused more harm than good; leaving Rhys in tremendous discomfort and completely traumatised.  Needless to say, nothing was done for him accept being given a prescription of paracetomol and being sent on our way.  (A junior doctor did advocate performing a dorsal slit, to which I told her to "get out of the room".  Being circumcised is to be "different" enough, without having a slit running up the middle of your foreskin - those guys are even rarer around here !)

For several weeks, Rhys was in and out of hospital (twice as an emergency) and still, nothing seemed to be getting done for him.  All the while, he was suffering tremendous discomfort.

Eventually, we received an out-patient's appointment for him to attend the clinic of a paediatric surgeon, who specialised in circumcision.  The surgeon confirmed that Rhys had phimosis and suggested that he be circumcised.

The operation was performed three weeks later.  All went well and Rhys has made a full recovery.

What annoys me is the procrastination of NHS "professionals" when dealing with incidents such as that with my son.  I fear that the anti-circumcison lobby, such as NORM-UK, have become far too powerful and influential.  There certainly seems to be a culture, in the NHS, to completely disown the procedure; a procedure which is sometimes entirely necessary, especially when a child is suffering.

Stretching, the use of steroid creams and even dorsal slits, are only protracting the inevitble.

Circumcision is certainly a taboo subject - even our GP (a middle-aged man who has spent the last thirty years as a GP and who, in fact, recommended that I be circumcised as a three year old) felt the need to whisper his belief that Rhys would have to be circumcised.

Parents have a responsibility to promote the well-being of their children.  I honestly feel that routine circumcision, such as that performed in the United States, is a preventative measure against phimosis, as well as many other conditions/diseases in later life.  Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) has advocated widespread circumcision in Africa, as a preventative measure.

The NHS is a wonderful concept and one which we Brits hold in sentimental regard.  In reality, the notion of free at the point of use, universal healthcare is a romantic one (and one which struggles to cope with modern demand).  The hard reality, of course, is that my son was allowed to needlessly suffer for several months because of the anti-circ, left-leaning political correctness of the NHS.  Shame on them.

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