Health Ministry warning over circumcisions

Director-General of Health Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said health practitioners in both private and public health facilities need to undergo the necessary training to perform the procedure competently and safely.

"Although this is a minor procedure, the complications can be severe and devastating for the patient," he said in a statement when referring to two cases of children who had to endure complications after undergoing circumcision at private clinics.

Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry's Medical Practice Division would investigate the cases and the practice in the country to minimise the occurrence of such cases.

He said the first case involved a nine-year-old boy who had a circumcision procedure performed at a private clinic in Jalan Ipoh by a general practitioner at 11am on Dec 15 and was admitted to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) at 3.34pm on the same day.

"The glans penis was totally amputated during the procedure using a pair of scissors. The general practitioner had referred the child to the Desa Park City Medical Centre and he was subsequently referred to HKL.

"In HKL, he was brought into the general operation theatre for emergency surgery (exploration and replantation microsurgery). This technically very difficult surgery took about three and a half hours and was done on an urgent basis on that same afternoon," he said.

There was a significant delay in the patient reaching HKL, which was beyond the control of the hospital, he said, adding that the boy was still in the ward for regular wound dressing.

He said the second case involved a 10-year-old boy who had a circumcision performed at a private clinic one year ago and whose parents were unhappy with the outcome of that procedure.

The parents brought the child to another general practitioner, in Cheras, on Dec 20 where the circumcision was redone at 8.30pm, he added.

"The glans penis was totally amputated during the procedure using a diathermy.

"The child was immediately brought to the UKM Medical Centre and subsequently referred to HKL on the same day at 11.40pm where he was brought into the general operation theatre for emergency surgery (exploration and replantation microsurgery)," he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said the two-hour surgery was technically difficult in view of the redo-circumcision technique used on the patient, who was currently still in the ward for observation.

He said specialists at the HKL, the national referral centre, were trained and well-equipped to treat such cases.

The two cases were managed by senior experienced consultants consisting of plastic and reconstructive surgeons, a urologist and also a child psychiatrist, he added.