Circumcision at Inova Fairfax

[Anonymous]

Hello, I am due for delivering our first child, a boy, in a week at INOVA fairfax. My OB said whoever is on call the next day after he is born can do the circumcision. I am concerned if this is a routine procedure for the OB/Gyn and if anyone has experienced it at INOVA fairfax. If we decide to go for another doctor, does anyone have a recommendation.

[Anonymous]

You get what you get, basically. Circumcision is the type of medical procedure about which they say in med school "watch one, do one, teach one." Ob/gyns do them all the time -- as do some pediatricians -- but there's no color-coded "cut here on the dotted line," so how much vs. how little the doctor cuts off is a matter of personal style and preference/how they were taught. Some doctors cut so much that there's not enough skin to allow for a full erection and there can be bowing; other doctors cut so little that you might not know the boy is circumcised if you've never seen what an uncircumcised baby boy looks like, and there can be issues with stuff getting trapped under the remnant foreskin.

Bottom line -- you need to ask more questions. There's no rush that it has to be done the day after birth or the day before discharge. You have every right to ask exactly who might do it, what their experience is, what their style is, etc. Or you can wait and find a mohel who's also an MD or go to a pediatric urologist who specializes in the baby boy penis anyway (unlike an obstetrician who by definition is a surgeon for adult women).

[Anonymous]

We just had one done at Fairfax a few weeks ago. The OB on call stopped by to discuss the procedure. We discussed various techniques and she explained her preferred method. Procedure took about 5 minutes. He’s not quite 8 weeks, but so far everything looks good.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 boys, 2 different hospitals. First one had a circumcision at the hospital after birth, so day of or day after. Second one, the doctors scheduled the circumcision at their outpatient clinic about a week or so later. I preferred the second route because it gave more time to establish breastfeeding (they seemed really sleepy after circumcision), and it really was not the big deal I had thought it would be to wait. Second was somehow an overall better experience. If I had another boy, I’d want to do it that way. I don’t have any experience with Inova.

[Anonymous]

Don't do it

[Anonymous]

Didn't happen at INOVA, but DC-area. Friends kid had 3 surgeries to correct the botched circumcision.

[Anonymous]

Just skip the circumcision

[Anonymous]

Leave the poor baby alone.

[Anonymous]

I had two done at INOVA Fairfax for my boys - whichever doctor was on call performed it. Great job both times. No issues at all.

[Anonymous]

I had 2 done at Inova Fairfax. With my oldest the doctor went a little too conservative and he had some issues with adhesions. We had to be very careful about pulling the skin back around the tip whenever we did a diaper change to prevent adhesions. But he’s fine now at 4 and has been fine for awhile. My youngest was fine and perfect, no complications at all. I’ve heard that OB’s are definitely steering toward more conservative circ’s now where they take off less skin.

[Anonymous]

I say skip. My son had a botched job at FFH. Wish I hadn’t and let him decide later if he wanted it.