Study published in the Journal of Urology, Volume 167, Issue 5, Pages 2113-2116 (May 2002).  The study's purpose was to determine the effect of the prepuce (foreskin) on sexual intercourse. The researchers examined sexual function outcomes in men who experienced sexual intercourse in the uncircumcised and circumcised states.

The study chose as subjects men who were circumcised for medical reasons. Only 7% of the men were circumcised as elective surgery. Even with such a large proportion of the subjects being circumcised for having problems with their foreskin, 38% reported that it was worse being circumcised.

Study published in The Lancet, Volume 374, Issue 9685, Pages 229 - 237, 18 July 2009. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60998-3.  The study assessed whether circumcision in HIV-infected men would reduce transmission of the virus to female sexual partners. Circumcision of HIV-infected men did not reduce HIV transmission to female partners over 24 months; longer-term effects could not be assessed. Condom use after male circumcision is essential for HIV prevention.  The results indicate that there is a probability of 21.7% HIV infection rate for female partners of circumcised HIV infected men, compared to 13.4% HIV infection rate for female partners of HIV infected men. Women with circumcised partners had more than a 50% increase in the infection rate of women compared to women with un-circumcised partners.

Study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Volume 278 No. 24, pages 2157-2162, December 24/31, 1997. The study was a randomized controlled trial to compare various anesthesia methods for infant circumicison. Enrollment in the study was stopped after it was determined that the control group (babies not receiving any anesthesia) were in great distress from their circumcision.  "The results of this study suggest that an anesthetic should be administered to newborns prior to undergoing circumcision.

A study published in BMC Urology, 2010, 10:2 doi:10.1186/1471-2490-10-2 February 2010. The results showed: "Sixteen prospective studies evaluated complications following neonatal and infant circumcision. Most studies reported no severe adverse events (SAE), but two studies reported SAE frequency of 2%. The median frequency of any complication was 1.5% (range 0-16%). Child circumcision by medical providers tended to be associated with more complications (median frequency 6%; range 2-14%) than for neonates and infants. Traditional circumcision as a rite of passage is associated with substantially greater risks, more severe complications than medical circumcision or traditional circumcision among neonates."

Study published in The Lancet, Volume 349, Issue 9052, Pages 599 - 603, 1 March 1997.

The authors found, "There was a significant linear trend on all outcome measures, showing increasing pain scores from uncircumcised infants, to those circumcised with Emla, to those circumcised with placebo." Their interpretation was, "Circumcised infants showed a stronger pain response to subsequent routine vaccination than uncircumcised infants."

Study published in The Lancet, Volume 345, Number 8945: Pages 291-292, 4 February 1995. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(95)90278-3

The study notes, "Circumcised babies have short-term alterations in behaviour, sleep patterns, frequency of feeding, crying, fussiness, and heart rate." For the longer term, the study notes,

Male circumcision . . . causes intense pain and measurable changes in behaviour that last up to 1 day. We found that circumcision status was associated with increased infant pain response to routine vaccination at 4-6 months. Circumcised boys had significantly longer crying bouts and higher pain scores. That both outcome measures, pain index, and cry duration, were influenced by circumcision lends credibility to our observations.

Article published in Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, September 12, 2003, Vol 116, No. 1181. Women reported that they are significantly more likely to experience vaginal dryness during sexual intercourse with circumcised men than with genitally intact men. The authors thought that the vaginal dryness becomes more apparent as women get older.

The authors concluded "Most likely, reported vaginal dryness and the related clinical designation female arousal disorder is but a normal female response to coitus with a man with an iatrogenically deficient penis." An iatrogenically deficient penis is one that has been circumcised.

An article discussion the pain response of infants. Unlike adults, infants are not capable of inhibiting pain. Instead, the "brain actually enhances the pain inputs rather than suppressing them. It's a complete reverse of what happens in an adult," says Professor Fitzgerald. The fact that the infant nervous system is, in a sense, receiving more pain than in adults intensifies the need to look for better analgesics (pain-relieving drugs) for newborn babies.

Study published in BJUI (British Journal of Urology International), Volume 99, Issue 4, Pages 864-869 (March 2007). This is the Sorrells study. The Sorrels study is remarkable because it used objective measurements to determine fine-touch sensitivity of various parts of the intact penis and the circumcumcised penis, showing that circumcision removes the most sensitive parts of the penis.

Watch a YouTube video of Dr. Sorrells discussing the study and his results.

Study published in Clinical Pediatrics, Vol. 45, No. 1, 49-54 (2006). DOI: 10.1177/000992280604500108. Dr. Howe concluded, "Meatal stenosis may be the most common complication following neonatal circumcision. The frequency of this complication and the need for surgical correction need to be disclosed as part of the informed consent for neonatal circumcision." The study found 24 of 329 (7%) circumcised boys had meatal stenosis.

Study published in Pediatric Surgery International, doi 10.1007/s00383-010-2566-9. The authors studied later complications of children who had neonatal circumcisions. Penile adhesions, skin bridges, meatal stenosis, redundant foreskin (incomplete circumcision with uncircumcised appearance), recurrent phimosis, buried penis and penile rotation were the most frequent complications treated after the original circumcision had healed.

Study published in Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 7, No. 3, 329-343 (2002). DOI: 10.1177/135910530200700310. The abstract states, "Infant male circumcision continues despite growing questions about its medical justification. As usually performed without analgesia or anaesthetic, circumcision is observably painful. It is likely that genital cutting has physical, sexual and psychological consequences too. Some studies link involuntary male circumcision with a range of negative emotions and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some circumcised men have described their current feelings in the language of violation, torture, mutilation and sexual assault."

Study published in The Journal of Urology, Volume 169, Issue 6, Pages 2332-2334 (June 2003). Doctors at a clinic reviewed their experience in treating patients with a trapped penis due to phimosis following newborn circumcision. The infants were circumcised with a Gomco device. Fifteen of 521 circumcised boys (2.9%) developed phimosis after circumcision.  Three boys had recurrence of phimosis after treatment.

A study published in Urologia Internationalis, Vol. 75, No. 1, 2005 (Urol Int 2005;75:62-66) (DOI: 10.1159/000085930). The authors assessed the effect of circumcision on sexually active men and the relative impact this may have on informed consent prior to surgery. 

The male subjects were circumcised for a benign desease. Penile sensation got worse for 18% of the men who got an adult circumcision. Only 61% of the men were satisfied with their adult circumcision. Considering that circumcision was for a disease, it is significant that not more men were satisfied with the cure.

Study published in Annals of Family Medicine, 8:64-72 (2010). doi: 10.1370/afm.1073. A meta analysis of the literature from 1997 through 2008 regarding male circumcision. The study found, "There is little evidence showing clinical benefit from nontherapeutic male circumcision." The implications were stated: "Patients who request circumcision for clinical reasons should be informed of the lack of consensus surrounding the procedure, the lack of strong evidence regarding its benefits, and the potential medical and psychosocial harms of the procedure."

The study concluded:

The role of adult nontherapeutic male circumcision in preventing sexually transmitted infections, urinary tract infections, and penile cancer remains unclear. Current evidence fails to recommend widespread neonatal circumcision for these purposes.

Shirley's Wellness Cafe is an educational website that promotes holistic health for humans and their animals.

The circcumcision page describes the harm of infant circumcision. The surgical procedure of infant circumcision is described, in detail. Various authorities are quoted regarding the pain of infant circumcision.

The circumcision information page includes links to various organizations and other sources that provide information on infant circumcision.

Research article published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, Vol. 62, Issue 1, pp. 80-81, 1987. doi:10.1136/adc.62.1.80 

Abstract

Four newborn babies developed acute heart failure a few hours after circumcision at 8 days. During this procedure, a sponge soaked in epinephrine was applied to the circumcision site and left there for several hours. Treatment was with digoxin and diuretics and signs of heart failure disappeared within 24-72 hours.

Study published in the BJUI (British Journal of Urology International), Volume 99, Issue 3, Pages 619-622 (March 2007). The study showed that there was a loss of sexual pleasure and enjoyment for a significant percentage of men.

Paper published in BJUI (British Journal of Urology International), Volume 83, Suppl. 1, pages 79–84, (1999), and authored by K. O'Hara & J. O'Hara. The authors surveyed women having sexual experience with both circumcised and anatomically complete partners to determine if there were any differences in sexual enjoyment. They determined that circumcision results in a less satisfying sexual experience.

The Jerusalem Post reports on a new technique to lengthen the shaft skin for a man with a botched circumcision. Too much skin was removed during circumcision. It sounds like the man had a severe case of turkey neck and the doctors found a way of grafting skin to make that part of the outer skin longer to reduce the turkey neck. I don't know if the surgery technique would work to make a foreskin, but it may bear further investigation.

The doctors wrote up their results and published it in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, Volume 63, Issue 3, Pages e325-e326 (March 2010), titled: The five-flap technique for the correction of post-circumcision peno-scrotal webbing. The journal article is a pay-to-view article and the cost is $31.50 US.

Study published in Journal of Pediatric Urology, 2009 Aug 7. doi:10.1016/j.jpurol.2009.07.007. "Knowledge of normal meatal/urethral width in a growing boy is important to create a neourethra of adequate size to correct hypospadias. Thus far, normal size values have been based on the study of circumcised, awake boys. The aim of this study was to measure normal urethral width in healthy uncircumcised boys under general anesthesia to provide a tool to create a neourethra of adequate size."

The Vulnerability of Men is a thoughtful article by an intact man describing why a circumcised father would want to circumcise his son. The author, Vincent Bach, describes the typical stages a cut man goes through when first confronted with the question of whether his son should be circumcised.

Vincent believes that the driving force behind circumcision in the United States is circumcised men. Many circumcised men feel cornered because they had their penis reduced by circumcision without their consent. His sexual well-being is based on how he perceives himself, and that includes seeing himself with a circumcised penis. To allow his son to remain intact would be to admit that he has less than a full, complete sex organ.

The page was also reproduced at Circumstitions. The content has since moved.
Edited October 28, 2018

HAARETZ.com reports in a 2008 article that traditional circumcision results in an increased rate of urinary tract infections (UTIs) for male infants. "Circumcision as performed by mohels, men whose profession is performing the Jewish ritual of brit milah, leads to a high rate of urinary tract infections among babies, according to a report released recently by physicians at Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva."

The article reports that the researchers "found urinary tract infections to be far more common among babies who had undergone circumcision by a mohel rather than a physician." One researcher said, "Without appropriate and intensive treatment, the bacteria could reach the blood, possibly even causing death." The researchers believe the infections are caused by the bandage left on the penis after circumcision.