The Immediate Complications of Circumcision & More

Baba

This email contains two sections:
1. Posting & Video: The Immediate Complications of Circumcision & More
2. Links


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THE IMMEDIATE COMPLICATIONS OF CIRCUMCISION

& MORE

Namaskar,
Here is one video (below) that details the process of one infant getting circumcised. The child is loudly crying and suffering. This is typical of circumcision whereby in the religious communities anesthesia is not used.

In addition, please find important and key information from medical professionals and texts from our Ananda Marga literature showing how we do not support the dogma of circumcision.

MEDICAL HISTORY OF CIRCUMCISION
(Courtesy of Video: Infant Circumcision Operation)

Infant circumcision was taken up in the United States, Australia and the English-speaking parts of Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and to a lesser extent in the United Kingdom. There are several hypotheses to explain why infant circumcision was accepted in the United States about the year 1900. The germ theory of disease elicited an image of the human body as a conveyance for many dangerous germs, making the public "germ phobic" and suspicious of dirt and bodily secretions. The penis became "dirty" by association with its function, and from this premise circumcision was seen as preventative medicine to be practised universally. In the view of many practitioners at the time, circumcision was a method of treating and preventing masturbation. Aggleton wrote that John Harvey Kellogg viewed male circumcision in this way, and further "advocated an unashamedly punitive approach." Circumcision was also said to protect against syphilis, phimosis, paraphimosis, balanitis, and "excessive venery" (which was believed to produce paralysis). Gollaher states that physicians advocating circumcision in the late nineteenth century expected public scepticism, and refined their arguments to overcome it.

Although it is difficult to determine historical circumcision rates, one estimate of infant circumcision rates in the United States holds that 32% of newborn American boys were being circumcised in 1933. Laumann et al. reported that the prevalence of circumcision among US-born males was approximately 70%, 80%, 85%, and 77% for those born in 1945, 1955, 1965, and 1971 respectively. Xu reported that the prevalence of circumcision among US-born males was 91% for males born in the 1970s and 84% for those born in the 1980s. Between 1981 and 1999, National Hospital Discharge Survey data from the National Center for Health Statistics demonstrated that the infant circumcision rate remained relatively stable within the 60% range, with a minimum of 60.7% in 1988 and a maximum of 67.8% in 1995. A 1987 study found that the most prominent reasons US parents choose circumcision were "concerns about the attitudes of peers and their sons' self concept in the future," rather than medical concerns. However, a later study speculated that an increased recognition of the potential benefits of neonatal circumcision may have been responsible for the observed increase in the US rate between 1988 and 2000. A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality placed the 2005 national circumcision rate at 56%.

THE IMMEDIATE COMPLICATIONS OF CIRCUMCISION
(Courtesy of Doctors Opposing Circumcision)

The immediate complications of circumcision may be classified as hemorrhage, infection, surgical mishap, other miscellaneous complications, and death.


Bleeding

The foreskin is highly vascularized,1 so hemorrhage is a particular problem and risk when the foreskin is cut. An artery that passes through the frenulum to provide blood to the glans penis is in danger of being severed.2 Williams & Kapila (1993) report bleeding to be the most common problem associated with circumcision.3

Special clamps are used to crush the skin to provide hemostasis. Old clamps may be worn, deformed, and fail to provide adequate crushing and hemostasis.4 When using the Plastibell® device, failure to tie the string tightly may result in bleeding.5

When a newborn is circumcised, there is great danger from bleeding because the prepuce is highly vascularized and because an infant’s body contains only 85ml/kg of blood.6 With so little total blood volume, a small loss of blood may cause exsanguination, hypovolemia, hypovolemic shock, and death.7-9 The coroner of Dade County, Florida reported the death of an infant from hemorrhage.7 Hiss et al. reported a hemorrhage followed by death.8 The coroner of British Columbia reported the death of a one-month-old infant from bleeding, exsanguination, hypovolemic shock, and multiple organ failure.9


Infection

Infection may range from the trivial to the life-threatening systemic infection.3

Life-threatening infections, includind septicemia and meningitis,10,11 tuberculosis,12,13 wound diphtheria,14 staphylococcus,15 and streptococcus,16 pyoderma17, impetigo,18,19 and scrotal abscess with salmonella infection,20 also have been reported. Scurlock & Pemberton (1977) reported a death from meningitis.11 The coroner of Ontario reported the death of a two-week-old infant from infection with Escherichia coli, intravascular coagulopathy, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.21

There are several reports of a significant increase in urinary tract infection (UTI) after ritual circumcision.22-24

Necrotizing fasciitis25-27 and Fournier’s gangrene (gangrene of the scrotum) have been reported.28 Such infections require extensive debridement (surgical excision) of infected tissue, if the patient is to survive.25-28

Circumcision infections may be spread by hospital workers.16,29,30,32,33 Hospitals are increasingly infected with antibiotic-resistant pathogens. St. Catherines’s Hospital on Long Island experienced an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among circumcised boys in the hospital nursery.31 Any invasive procedure increases the risk of MRSA infection in the newborn nursery.32 Boys who are circumcised have a twelve-times greater risk of CA-MRSA infection.33


Surgical Accident

Circumcision is an imprecise surgical procedure. It is difficult to judge the amount of skin to excise. One problem is the removal of excess skin,3 which may denude the entire shaft of the penis and require an immediate corrective operation by a urologic specialist.34-36 Circumcision may also result in injuries to the urethra, including urethral fistula,37-39 which requires corrective surgery by a urologic specialist. A case of bivalving the glans penis caused by inserting the scissors into the urethra has been reported.40

Due to the difficulty in judging the correct amount of skin to excise, sometimes so little skin is removed that the penis does not appear to be circumcised. This may generate parental complaints and requests for a re-circumcision, although there is no medical indication for the second circumcision. Leith (1970) reported that, in his study of 200 circumcisions, 19 were recircumcisions.41 There is danger of painful erections if too much skin is removed.

More serious surgical mishaps include excision of part of the penis42-45 or glans penis,46-48 necrosis of the glans penis,48 necrosis of the penis caused by electrocautery devices,49-51 and total ablation or amputation of the penis.52


Death

Death may be the result of either bleeding7-9 or infection.11,12,15,21 There is no central registry of circumcision deaths, so the incidence of death from circumcision is controversial. Williams & Kapila (1993) characterize death as “rare.”3 Gairdner (1949), however, reported 16 deaths annually in Britain in the 1940s.53 Circumcision deaths may be attributed to bleeding or infection rather than the underlying circumcision. Few doctors are willing to acknowledge death from an elective, unnecessary, non-therapeutic, allegedly “minor,” surgical procedure. Gellis (1978) estimated there are more deaths from circumcision than from cancer of the penis (which would mean more than 200 deaths per year).54 (Prevention of penile cancer is not a valid excuse for circumcising. See Chapter 3.) Baker (1979) argued that there are at least 229 deaths per year in the United States from circumcision.55 Bollinger (2010) estimates 114 deaths in the United States annually from circumcision-related causes.56


Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous immediate complications of circumcision include life-threatening pulmonary embolism,57 apnea and projectile vomiting,58,59 tachycardia and heart failure,60 pneumothorax,61 and gastric rupture.62

ANANDA MARGA STAND ON CIRCUMCISION

Here below are two documents from our Ananda Marga literature that clearly show that Ananda Marga does not support the dogma of circumcision.

#1: From Senior Acarya Diary

#2: From Ananda Marga Social and Spiritual Practices

Summary: By the above two documents, it is very clear that Ananda Marga is wholly against the procedure of circumcision.

HOW CIRCUMCISION IS DONE
(Courtesy of Video: Infant Circumcision Operation)

A dorsal slit is necessary to slit the foreskin open to open the preputial cavity. After the foreskin has been cut open the bell can be inserted and placed on the glans.In order to apply the clamp the foreskin is grabbed with hemostats as the the bell and the glans have to be maneuvered through the bevel hole.

The arms of the bell are here maneuvered through the bottom of the bevel hole in the base plate. As soon as the bell arms are through the base plate is worked down over the secured foreskin and the plate is seated onto the bell. The top plate is swung around so that it sits over the base plate and the arms of the bell are lifted onto the yoke.

Now the nut is tightened down as far as possible, thereby crushing the foreskin between the bell (cone) and base plate. Tightening the clamp forces the rim of the bell down against the frenulum, which responds by either stretching or by tearing or bleeding.

With the scalpel blade the crushed foreskin is excised against the bell at the base plate and bell junction. All remaining shreds of foreskin above the plate are removed.

Now the nut can be loosened releasing the bell arms from the yoke. Removal of the clamp allows the bell arms to drop back down through the plate. Now the penis is circumcised.

VIDEO

Here is a link to a video that clearly details the process of circumcision and shows how much pain and discomfort the baby must endure. It is an emotionally moving video.

WRONGLY PRINTED IN ENGLISH CARYACARYA BOOK

Unfortunately, the publishers have wrongly printed the English edition of Caryacarya part 2. Because in that book it states that circumcision is a viable option in Ananda Marga. But that is wrong. This book must be corrected at the earliest - accompanied by public announcment / errata page by the publishers.

In Him,
Vijay

Note 1: REPLY TO AC JINANANANDA AVT

In his recent letter, Dada Jinananandji was asking for medical facts against the practice of circumcision.

Dadaji wrote: In fact this habit is not only common with Semitic people but also many African countries, parts of Maharlika ...  They might need a sound explanation on the negative effects of circumcision. any one ?

Reply: The above letter and video - as well as the below letter and video in the links section - offer solid explanations based on medical facts and Ananda Marga teachings why circumcision is dangerous and harmful.

== Section 2 ==

Links

Here below is a link to another article and video about the medical dangers of circumcision.

http://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/2014/09/circumcision-is-medically-dangerous.html