Complications of Self‐circumcision: A Case Report and Proposal

Male circumcision is a common surgical technique that has been performed worldwide for thousands of years for medical, social, cultural, and religious reasons. It is usually conducted in childhood in a clinical setting, but the practice of adult self‐circumcision has led to a market for nonmedically approved self‐circumcision devices that can be purchased via the Internet. The aims of this report are to report the case of a 30‐year‐old white man who suffered complications after trying to perform a self‐circumcision with a nonmedically approved device purchased via the Internet, and to propose that urologists should take the lead in investigating the problem of male self‐circumcision. This case report documents the presentation and treatment of an attempted self‐circumcision. The attempted self‐circumcision was carried out without local anaesthetic and resulted in an incision in the foreskin. The patient presented with uncontrollable local bleeding 2 days after carrying out the procedure. Although questioned as to why he had attempted self‐circumcision, the patient was reluctant and/or unable to explain his reasons. Daily local wound care and topical antibiotics resulted in complete wound healing after 2 months, and a clinical clamp circumcision was conducted to treat the remaining severe phimosis. Data on the prevalence and outcomes associated with the use of self‐circumcision devices are few. The clinicians who treat the complications are best placed to collect data on self‐circumcision and should publish case studies. Eventually there may be sufficient understanding of the sector of the population at risk from this practice to educate those likely to attempt self‐circumcision, and enough evidence of harm for controls to be placed on the sale of these nonmedically approved devices via the Internet. Natali A, and Rossetti MA. Complications of self‐circumcision: A case report and proposal. J Sex Med **;**:**–**.