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 Ed Schoen, MD on Circumcision RDR Books ISBN: 1-157143-123-3 Distributed in Canada by Distributed in the United Kingdom Price: $16.95/£12.99 |
CIRCUMCISION IS for life. It is a simple operation, usually performed on the infant penis, and takes only a few minutes. It dramatically alters the organ's appearance, performance, and susceptibility to a range of problems and diseases, not only for the owner but also his future sexual partners. For some parents it is a given. It's what they do for reasons of religion or culture or family conformity. As such it merits hardly any consideration; 'it's what we do'. But there is also a large group of mothers and fathers who are not governed by these traditions. It is a decision over which they may agonise from the moment of confirmed conception, through to birth, and for ever afterwards. Their anxieties may have been triggered by the proliferation of irrational anti-circumcision groups in recent years. If so, this book provides positive conviction and reassurance in favour of doing it. If you have doubts after reading it, you must be a diehard opponent of the procedure, which no amount of supporting evidence will ever satisfy. As circumcision is an operation on an organ owned by the male, but shared by a partner in sexual pleasure and pro-creation, it is a focus of charged emotion as much as practicality. Ed Schoen MD strips away the former and builds his platform on medical evidence. There are plenty of critics out there who bay for facts and statistics in support of circumcision, yet, when so confronted, they brush them aside and invent their own. To anyone with half an open mind on this matter I'd say; read this book carefully and prepare to be convinced. Dr Schoen's approach is a model of logic, not just in the content, but in the way his content is set out. Don't skip the preface, or the introductory overview, or the prologue with its overture of common questions to be addressed in the chapters that follow. Surprisingly, he does invite readers, only concerned with the facts, to abandon his book after Part I, viz, the first ten chapters assigned to 'Proof'. Those who press on to the end have five more chapters titled 'Consequences' which he promises; 'adds the spice'. Who can resist? Because circumcision is the oldest and still the most common surgery in the world today, detractors try to assign it to history, suggesting modern society performs it only through passive habit. Removing the foreskin may have served primitive peoples in uncomfortable environments, but is there need to perpetuate the procedure in an increasingly sanitised modern world? Ed Schoen's book for now is right up to date and a culmination of study information which has been accumulating over the five decades of his practice as a pediatric endocrinologist. His book includes all the latest confirmatory studies, some reinforcing those they may have been set up to challenge. This thicket of evidence is spreading to include suspected benefits which were, until recently, questionable. One such is the degree of protection from the hetrosexual transmission of AIDS and cervical cancer. A telling point the good doctor makes, is in comparing circumcision to immunisation: Whereas, one vaccine offers protection for only one disease, circumcision is one simple, safe procedure which has multiple future benefits extending over a lifetime. Many people question the practice of circumcising boys in the newborn period. Today there is much talk of a right to body integrity. Better surely to wait until boys are old enough to make a choice for themselves? Dr Schoen answers this completely in chapter one; 'The window of opportunity'. Even as a seasoned researcher of the subject, I found new and logical information here and also in the following chapter. There he expounds an interesting theory on the function of the foreskin which I've not heard before. Some basic answers are also given to basic questions; 'What is Circumcision? Why Do It? How To Do It and What Can Go Wrong' This is not, as implied, a DIY course for parents, just an explanation of what doctors 'do' for those who wondered but haven't asked. If, hitherto, you've enjoyed an ignorance is bliss approach to infant kidney infections, brace yourself for an uncomfortable education in chapter three. This leaves you in no doubt, from the statistics, that circumcision prevents UTI's (Urinary Tract Infections) in baby boys. Those who are not 'cut' in this infant stage run a tenfold increased risk of developing them. Much of the data was discovered by Dr Tom Wiswell of the Walter Reed Army hospital. His research started from a sceptic standpoint, as an opponent of circumcision, but his findings brought about his Damascene conversion. From the medical we turn to the mechanics in chapter four on 'Local Penile Problems'. It deals with the physical malfunctions to which foreskins can be prone. Tight foreskins are not only a concern in themselves, but they do inhibit personal hygiene which in turn can invite infection. Thus the two are linked. There is also an interesting reference to a mother, author of a childcare manual, which mentions her aesthetic as well as practical reasons for recommending circumcision. The chapter on HIV/AIDS prevention is a sobering read and bang up to the minute with accrued evidence which is already transforming attitudes in favour of circumcision on the continent of Africa and elsewhere. Unfortunately, the role of circumcision, as a partial guard against other STDs has long been known, but rejected without reason by those who oppose it. Perhaps the more open minded will take it on board. Minds have also been closed to the fact that circumcision almost exclusively protects against cancer of the penis if done early in life. Unlike every other approach to this disease's manifestations, anti-circumcisionists take comfort from the statistic that this form is fairly rare. Sure, but not that rare a few unfortunate males have to be driving the statistics. Try asking those diagnosed if they mind being in such a small incidence? It could be you or your son. Any parent reading this chapter, will surely be inclined to revisit their decision not to circumcise their boys. Equally long known and refuted, is the effect of male circumcision in preventing cancer of the cervix in their female partners. Statistically minded readers will have a feast. Happily this book is again as up to date as it can be with recent studies which pile up more evidence in favour of circumcision. If these chapters don't move you, then number nine on 'Sex and Sensitivity' might. People who find health discussions boring, usually tune in once sex is mentioned. It's mentioned here, so enjoy a good read. By the time you've read chapter ten on 'Circumcision and the Military', you're through part one. I don't propose to enlighten you fully on what has earlier been referred to as 'the spice'. What I will say is that there is some very startling first hand accounts of the manipulation of the public, the media and the medical profession by anti-circumcision groups with an agenda. If by now you are not inclined to buy and inform yourself more on circumcision as a result of this enthusiastic review of Dr Schoen's work, then you are a lost cause. |
