Circumcision of a newborn boy is usually done before he leaves the hospital. A numbing medication (local anesthesia such as Xylocaine) is injected into the penis to reduce pain. Ring-type clamps are placed around the foreskin, tightened like a tourniquet to reduce bleeding, and the foreskin is removed below the clamp. Sometimes a plastic clamp is used (Plastibell). The Plastibell will fall off in 5 to 8 days, after the surgical site has healed.
Update Date: 11/7/2011
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
