Traditional nanny circumcision and dressing with sumac, onion and oil: A case report and review of the literature

Roughly every one out of three men is circumcised today. Complications are very common given the fact that circumcision is the most widely conducted surgical procedure by traditional circumcisers and doctors. The aim of this article is to present the case of a three day old male infant who was brought to the emergency department with intractable bleeding as a complication of circumcision. This case is interesting because of the traditional circumcision technique, the circumciser being women, and the dressing compound being unusual. Three days old male baby was circumcised by a traditional technique called the nanny circumcision and wound was dressed with a compound consisting of sumac, onion and grease. The patient was surgically treated and had no complications in follow-up. Circumcision may cause serious complications if not done properly by people who are not health care professionals. Hereby, we present the case of a traditional circumcision and review the literature. Our goal as health care providers should be to educate people about possible complications of circumcision, so that they would demand surgeons who are educated for circumcisionof their children.

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