Surgical pathologies in children presenting for non-medical circumcision

Abstract

Objectives: Circumcision is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in the world. In this study, we determined the frequency of additional surgical pathologies in patients presenting for non-medical circumcision. Material(s) and Method(s): Children presenting to a secondary healthcare facility between June 2013 - June 2014 for non-medical circumcision were included in this study. Patients' ages, presenting at outpatient clinics were noted together with the results of physical examinations. Result(s): A total of 2088 children presented for non-medical circumcision. Their average age was 5.2 years. 56.3% of patients presented to the Pediatric Surgery outpatient clinic, 25.3% presented to the Urology outpatient clinic and 18.3% presented to the General Surgery outpatient clinic. Additional surgical pathologies were noted in 3.9% of patients and these were: phimosis (n=36), inguinal hernia/hydrocele (n=12), buried penis (n=10), undescended testis (n=9), retractile testis (n=5), hypospadias (n=3), megameatus (n=2), umbilical hernia (n=2) and varicocele (n=2). The surgical plans for 37 (1.8%) patients changed due to the findings at examination. Conclusion(s): Changes in surgical plans were required for 1.8% of patients. It is therefore important that all patients, including those presenting with a request for circumcision, have a detailed physical examination.Copyright © 2016, Marmara University. All rights reserved.