Surgeons group: Get circumcision only from licensed doctors

The Philippine Society of General Surgeons (PSGS) reminded parents and guardians Wednesday to only let their children get circumcised by licensed physicians to prevent any serious complications that may even result in death.

PSGS vice president Dr. Alfred Lasala II issued the stern reminder after a 10-year-old boy died after he was circumcised at a lying-in clinic in Tondo, Manila. It was later on found out that the person who did the procedure was not a registered doctor, according to a barangay official.

“Sa doktor po kayo dapat magpapatuli. In fact, ang mga doktor po na lisensyado, kahit na po hindi siruhano, ay may kaalaman at may kapasidad kung nag-training po sila na magtuli,” Lasala said in a Balitanghali interview.

(You should be circumcised only by a doctor. In fact, licensed doctors, even if they are not surgeons, have the knowledge and capacity to do so if they were trained to perform circumcision.)

“Minsan po kasi may mga medical mission na 'yung pangmaramihan tapos minsan po ang gumagawa midwife, gumagawa nurses. Of course this is against the law, this is a practice of medicine, so dapat po 'yung mga doktor lang na merong kaalaman,” he added.

(Sometimes there are medical missions for a big group of people and those who perform the procedure are only midwives or nurses. This is against the law because circumcision is a practice of medicine, so it’s only the doctors who have knowledge on how to do it.)

Lasala said that boys may get circumcised in ambulatory clinics or multi-specialty clinics accredited by the Department of Health (DOH) so long as there are doctors who would do the surgery, and the equipment, such as first aid kit, are complete.

He also warned of the dangers of doing the traditional way of circumcision called “pukpok.”

“Ang pinaka-problema nito, of course there's pain dahil hindi sila nag-a-anesthesia. Number two, dahil hindi nagde-disinfect, puwedeng magkaroon po ng impeksyon afterwards. Number three, hindi ho tinatahi ito, so meron pong mga pagkakataon na dire-diretso ang pagdudugo,” the doctor explained.

(The biggest problem with this is it would be painful for the patient because this proceudre doesn’t use anesthesia. Number two, you can get an infection after because there’s no disinfecting. Number three, the penis is not being sutured, so there may be continuous bleeding.)

Citing scientific journals, Lasala said that the recommendable age to get circumcised is 9 to 10 years old wherein the anatomy of the child is already developed and his psychological state to get the procedure is better.

As to the 10-year-old who died after circumcision, his mother Marjorie San Agustin told GMA Integrated News’ that the boy was brought to a clinic at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. Before the circumcision, her son was administered anesthesia—reportedly in the amount of 20cc, as per the clinic staff.

A person who introduced herself as a doctor performed the procedure during which the child reportedly began convulsing.

In 2023, the same suspect was also arrested by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group after using the name and license number of a legitimate doctor whom she had worked with over 20 years ago. She was, however, released on bail.

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Jaime Santiago said they would investigate the matter and the autopsy of the body would be their top priority. He said the result would determine if someone should be held accountable for the child’s death.

"Malaman namin 'yung cause ng death. Isu-subpoena namin siya kung anong procedure ang ginawa niya," Santiago said.

(We need to determine the cause of death. We’ll issue a subpoena to the person to explain the procedure performed.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News