Dr Terry Russell

I recently came across a web site for Dr Terry Russell and his circumcision practice in Queensland, Australia which can be found at www.russellmedical.com.au .

I would like to comment on the many misleading statements on his site.

First of all, it is in his commercial interest to promote circumcision. Circumcision is his business! I would be very wary when most doctors advise against routine circumcision (and even refuse to perform the procedure) and then you eventually find one who says 'step this way folks!'.

In fact, I came across Terry Russell's site by accident when his Google sponsored advertisement stated "Circumcision Pros & Cons" which then takes you to www.circumcision.com.au which then redirects you to www.russellmedical.com.au .

You would think that "Pros & Cons" suggests a balanced and considered examination of circumcision. Not so. Once you go to his site, you'll find it is filled with Pro, Pro, Pro...

He makes numerous claims of alleged benefits of circumcision. Unfortunately, like so many others who are pro-circumcision, his omits relevant information to put matters in perspective, or bases his claims on outdated or flawed research. It is interesting that he makes numerous references but does not publish the source of these - instead he prefers to say "References on request". I suspect that most of these references are decades old, if they even exist. If you want properly researched and current information (with listed references) then you should consider visiting www.circinfo.org.au .

For example, a common pro-circumcision argument is the claim that circumcision will reduce or prevent UTI's (urinary tract infections). The actual numbers are 0.2% for circumcised boys, and 0.7% for uncircumcised boys... but did you know that 5% of girls suffer UTIs? Doesn't it strike you as strange that no one considers UTIs in girls a problem even though it occurs at a much greater rate than in uncircumcised boys? Also consider http://www.australianprescriber.com/magazine/22/2/40/3/ which states "On the basis of observed risks, it has been calculated that to prevent one urine infection, 99 boys must be circumcised and up to 5 will have some complication of the circumcision." (ref 'Craig JC, Knight JF, Sureshkumar P, Mantz E, Roy LP. Effect of circumcision on incidence of urinary tract infection in preschool boys. J Pediatr 1996;128:23-7').

Of the many misleading statements on his site, I would like to address another under his 'Questions' section. The question was "How many (circumcisions) have you done? Any complications?". He goes on to say that he's done over 10,000 without any major complications. What he doesn't say is that many complications don't show up until later in life; both physical and psychological. (Warning: the following links show graphic physical examples: skin bridges, scarring, excessive skin removed, unevenness. Most of these circumcisions were likely counted as "successful" at the time they were performed.).

Terry Russell also seems to have forgotten to mention that circumcision:

	will remove the most sensitive part of penile skin which your son will now never feel during sex (the inner foreskin is much more sensitive than the shaft skin)
	that the tissue on the glans (head of penis) will thicken and lose sensitivity. Even pro-circumcision supporters will acknowledge that a circumcised man will feel less during sex.

It is really quite easy to debunk a lot of the pro-circumcision 'research'. Just take a look at the truth that real life tells us:

	It is a fact that boys grow up happy and healthy in countries which do not routinely circumcise their boys. They do not suffer the scale of widespread problems which pro-circumcision supporters and their 'research' would have you believe. These boys grow up just as nature intended and without having had their most basic human right violated.
	It is a fact that 80% of men worldwide are not circumcised.
	It is a fact that countless circumcised men quietly suffer psychologically because of being circumcised. Many spend enormous time and energy attempting to reverse what was done to them (unfortunately, it can never truly be reversed). Want proof? Perform a search on the internet for "foreskin restoration" and see for yourself how many men are suffering in silence, trying to undo what was done to them. How would you feel if you were to discover that your son is inwardly unhappy, distressed and spending many hours every day trying to undo his circumcision?

Parents are custodians of their children. They do not own them, nor should they express their ego onto their children with forced cosmetic surgery.