Late last week, I was made aware of an unbelievable situation. A 3 month old baby boy in Memphis, TN – was left mutilated & disfigured after undergoing a circumcision. You can read about it here.
As someone who has spent over a decade working in the medical field, many of those years in Pediatrics, I am outraged! I know quite a bit about how a circumcision is performed, and I’ve actually assisted in a few. (By “assist” I mean prep the room for the procedure, strap the baby down on the circ board, comfort the baby during & after the procedure, etc. I was not the one with the scalpel in my hand!)
The mom in this case states she took her baby to a “low-cost clinic” for the procedure. That struck a chord with me. I’ve seen first hand how people without money are treated by doctors. I witnessed patients on Govt. assistance be whisked in & out of the office I worked in, the doctor would barely spend 5 minutes with them. Meanwhile, patients with private insurance, were given 20-30 minutes of the doctor’s “precious” time. Knowing that this took place in a low-cost clinic, really upset me.
Circumcisions are usually performed in the hospital, prior to a newborn being released or within the first couple weeks of life, in the pediatrician’s office. There is no sedation given to the infant- the procedure is performed on them while they are wide awake. A bit of numbing cream may be applied to the penis & foreskin ahead of time, but that’s about it. The procedure usually takes about 15 minutes, it’s fairly simple… UNLESS the baby is older, or larger. Circumcisions were performed in our office on a routine basis, as long as the baby weighed LESS THAN 10 lbs!
If the baby weighed more than 10 lbs, he’d be referred to the hospital for the procedure.
I’m NOT a doctor, but I worked in a doctor’s office. If I know a circumcision cannot be performed, in office, on a baby that weighs more than 10 lbs, WHY DIDN’T THE DOCTOR IN MEMPHIS KNOW THIS?!
How many circs has this doctor performed? Was this her first?! What made her think she could perform a circumcision on this baby when he clearly weighed more than 10 lbs? Why wasn’t he referred to the hospital?
What kind of “doctor” was this? That baby could have died, the procedure took three hours! 3 HOURS!! He was left mutilated, basically without a penis & will need reconstructive surgery. WHY IS THIS DOCTOR STILL PRACTICING MEDICINE?! Why haven’t the authorities arrested this butcher?
Memphis, wake up! Demand this doctor’s medical license! What this so-called doctor did to that poor, helpless baby boy is horrific! For three whole hours she was cutting away at his private parts, he was WIDE AWAKE as she did this! The doctor herself stated, “I don’t know if he’s too large to do this in the clinic, but I’m gonna do it anyways.” WHAT?!
I don’t blame the mother in this case, she did what she thought was the best thing for her baby. She put her trust in the clinic & the doctor. The doctor is totally at fault here- SHAME ON YOU for attempting to perform a procedure you clearly had no business doing! You’ve scarred this baby for life! All you had to do was refer the baby to the hospital and they would’ve taken care of him.
Memphis, I urge you to rise up and demand justice for Baby Ashton! This doctor needs to be punished and her license revoked.
