Regret for a painful procedure

Re: [“Delicate Decision,” March 31], I regret circumcising our son. When I asked if the procedure was painful, my obstetrician shook his head and said no, the baby just goes “waah” once, and it’s over. That is not true, as I learned later when I saw the operation performed at a friend’s Jewish bris ceremony.

The surgery is performed without anesthesia, and the baby screams constantly, trying to wiggle out of the straps that bind his arms and legs. The pain does not stop after the surgery, but continues for days as the wound heals.

Routine circumcision of infants is not done in England, Europe and Australia. Princes William and Harry are not circumcised. The risk of penile cancer is minuscule, lower than for appendicitis. Should we remove the baby’s appendix as well?

Gail Biberstein Melom

Arcadia

Your two articles were extremely biased in their pro-circumcisionist viewpoint. One myth your article perpetuated is that it’s more painful to circumcise adult males than newborns. We now have more than sufficient research proving that infants are born with highly developed pain pathways.

At birth, the foreskin is attached to the glans by a fibrous tissue, the synechia. The synechia loosens up around age 4, and usually is gone by puberty, allowing the foreskin to slide back and forth over the shaft.

During infant circumcision, the foreskin is pulled apart to allow a probe to be inserted through the synechia between the glans and the foreskin. The probe is then twisted in a circular motion to tear the foreskin loose. Almost all babies are screaming at this point, and the cutting hasn’t even begun. Adult men don’t have synechia.

Your article also failed to mention an article published last year in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Urology International titled “Fine-Touch Pressure Thresholds in the Adult Penis.” The results indicated that intact penises were four times more sensitive than cut penises.

This is not a medical issue, nor a hygiene issue, nor a look- like-daddy issue. This is a civil rights issue. There is no room in a civilized society for the unnecessary amputation of infant genitalia.

Winston Wilde

Beverly Hills