Neonatal circumcision in the U.S. is a safe procedure; however, it is not without risk. In a study of 130,475 newborns identified in the Washington State Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System (1987–1996) as circumcised during their birth hospital stay, 0.18% had a bleeding complication, 0.04% had a complication coded as “injury,” and 0.0006% had penile cellulitis diagnosed before discharge.41 In a trade-off analysis based on observed complication rates and published studies of the effect of circumcision on rates of UTIs (urinary tract infection) in the first year of life and lifetime risk of penile cancer, the investigators calculated that a complication might be expected in one out of every 476 circumcisions, that six UTIs can be prevented for every complication endured, and nearly two complications would be expected for every case of penile cancer prevented.
An analysis was conducted of 136,086 boys born in U.S. Army hospitals from 1980 to 1985 with a medical record review for indexed complications related to circumcision status during the first month of life.42 For 100,157 circumcised boys, 193 (0.19%) complications occurred. The frequencies of UTI (p<0.0001) and bacteremia (p<0.0002) were significantly higher in the uncircumcised boys than among those circumcised. In neither study were any circumcision-related deaths or losses of the glans or entire penis reported.