A new study has discovered that neonatal and infant circumcision is safe when performed by trained staff. The review has appeared in the open access journal BMC Urology.

Dr Helen Weiss from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK said, "We identified 52 studies from 21 countries which included sufficient information to estimate frequency of adverse events following neonatal, infant and child circumcision. This forms a systematic review of the published literature on complications associated with the procedure at young ages".

The study revealed that among infants aged less than one-year-old, the frequency of relatively minor adverse events such as excessive bleeding, swelling and infection was low (median 1.5 per cent for any adverse event) and severe complications were very rare.

However, more complications as severe complications were reported when the procedure was performed by inexperienced providers, or with inadequate equipment and supplies.

The authors concluded that male circumcision is a common practice and will continue to be performed for religious, cultural and medical reasons. Hence, there is a clear need to improve safety of male circumcision at all ages through improved training.