Circumcision safe in young, in right hands

LONDON, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Neonatal and infant circumcision by trained staff rarely results in problems, but there are risks in older boys, a British review of studies found.

Dr. Helen Weiss of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine reviewed the medical literature relating to circumcision.

"We identified 52 studies from 21 countries which included sufficient information to estimate frequency of adverse events following neonatal, infant and child circumcision," Weiss said in a statement. "This forms a systematic review of the published literature on complications associated with the procedure at young ages."

The study, published in the journal BMC Urology, found that among infants less than 1-year-old, the frequency of relatively minor adverse events such as excessive bleeding, swelling and infection was low and severe complications were very rare.

Circumcisions by medical providers on children age 1 and older tended to be associated with more complications, but there were still few serious adverse events.

More complications, including severe complications, were seen when the procedure was undertaken by inexperienced providers, or with inadequate equipment and supplies.