Childhood circumcision in Northern Ireland: a barometer of the current practice of general paediatric surgery

Purpose:

Studies undertaken in England and Scotland have identified a decrease in the number of circumcision operations being performed during childhood. The aims of this study were two-fold. Firstly, to determine the trend in circumcision operations performed in boys in Northern Ireland over a ten year period. Secondly, to compare the number of operations performed by paediatric surgeons with the number performed by general surgeons over the same period.

Method:

Data were collected from the Northern Ireland Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety. A retrospective analysis was conducted of the number of circumcisions performed in boys aged between 0 and 13 years for the year beginning 1^st September 1991 to the 1^st of September 1992 and for the year beginning 1^st September 2001 until the 1^st of September 2002.

Results:

769 circumcisions were performed in the year 1991 to 1992 compared with 264 in the year 2001 to 2002, representing a 66% decrease. In the ten year study period, the number of circumcisions performed by general surgeons fell by 71% whilst specialist paediatric surgeons performed 56% less.

Conclusions:

The decrease in rates of circumcision in boys aged 0 to 13 years in Northern Ireland is consistent with trends in the remainder of the United Kingdom. The results also suggest a greater decrease in the proportion of circumcisions being performed by general surgeons in district general hospitals compared to those performed by paediatric surgeons.