November 29th, 2007, 01:35 AM
Adelaide Now
November 12, 2007
Cosmetic circumcision banned
JILL PENGELLEY, HEALTH REPORTER
November 12, 2007 01:15am
CIRCUMCISION will be banned in the state's public hospitals unless it is for medical reasons.
Health Minister John Hill today will announce an immediate ban on "cosmetic" circumcision.
"The Health Department has a responsibility to ensure access to elective surgery is based on sound medical reasons," he said yesterday. "Cosmetic procedures such as liposuction, facelifts and male circumcision will only be provided if assessed and justified on true clinical grounds.
"This will improve the demand on beds, clinical resources and theatre time."
In the past financial year, 274 circumcisions were p! erformed on children in the state's public hospitals. SA is the last state to take a stand against circumcision. "Both nationally and overseas, doctors agree there is no medical benefit to routine circumcision with the procedure as low as 2 per cent in the UK," Mr Hill said.
"Parents who wish to have their son circumcised can still have the procedure done in private hospitals or private day centres."
Australian Medical Association state president Peter Ford said circumcision was controversial and it was "not unreasonable" that other procedures take priority in a system under pressure.
Patients already on the waiting list will still be able to have the surgery in the public system but anyone not allocated an appointment will not be eligible.
Other procedures to be banned include breast enlargement or reduction, penile implant, hair transplant, facelift, gender re-assignment surgery and sterilisation reversal.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital surgery director Guy Maddern said it was 30 years or more since most purely cosmetic work had been performed in public hospitals.
"It's making it clear that operations will not be offered for cosmetic reasons but only for medically indicated reasons," he said.
Adelaide Now
November 12, 2007
Cosmetic circumcision banned
JILL PENGELLEY, HEALTH REPORTER
November 12, 2007 01:15am
CIRCUMCISION will be banned in the state's public hospitals unless it is for medical reasons.
Health Minister John Hill today will announce an immediate ban on "cosmetic" circumcision.
"The Health Department has a responsibility to ensure access to elective surgery is based on sound medical reasons," he said yesterday. "Cosmetic procedures such as liposuction, facelifts and male circumcision will only be provided if assessed and justified on true clinical grounds.
"This will improve the demand on beds, clinical resources and theatre time."
In the past financial year, 274 circumcisions were p! erformed on children in the state's public hospitals. SA is the last state to take a stand against circumcision. "Both nationally and overseas, doctors agree there is no medical benefit to routine circumcision with the procedure as low as 2 per cent in the UK," Mr Hill said.
"Parents who wish to have their son circumcised can still have the procedure done in private hospitals or private day centres."
Australian Medical Association state president Peter Ford said circumcision was controversial and it was "not unreasonable" that other procedures take priority in a system under pressure.
Patients already on the waiting list will still be able to have the surgery in the public system but anyone not allocated an appointment will not be eligible.
Other procedures to be banned include breast enlargement or reduction, penile implant, hair transplant, facelift, gender re-assignment surgery and sterilisation reversal.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital surgery director Guy Maddern said it was 30 years or more since most purely cosmetic work had been performed in public hospitals.
"It's making it clear that operations will not be offered for cosmetic reasons but only for medically indicated reasons," he said.
Now if only they could loan their backbone out...
House Member
Posts: 2,815 
Location: California
Location: California
November 29th, 2007, 01:26 PM
It's interesting that they focused on circs, when they've banned all cosmetic procedures.
I'm not in favor of circumcision, but I really don't see how this would improve resources if it were implemented here. Parents have to pay for circs out of pocket so it doesn't cost the hospital system anything and it doesn't take up a bed since it's just done while the baby is already in the hospital before they are sent home.
It's interesting that they focused on circs, when they've banned all cosmetic procedures.
I'm not in favor of circumcision, but I really don't see how this would improve resources if it were implemented here. Parents have to pay for circs out of pocket so it doesn't cost the hospital system anything and it doesn't take up a bed since it's just done while the baby is already in the hospital before they are sent home.
Executive Member
Posts: 9,531
November 29th, 2007, 02:40 PM
There is some talk that Australian circumcisions could be made illegal and that offenders could end up paying for having their operations reversed. The costly surgery to replace the missing foreskin would require a hairless skin graft from somewhere on the body where it wouldn't normally be visible. The obvious place would be very high on the inside of the thigh. Skin harvest sites generally take a long while to heal and are quite painful. Illegal circumcision could be a major pain in the --ss as well as in the wallet.....
There is some talk that Australian circumcisions could be made illegal and that offenders could end up paying for having their operations reversed. The costly surgery to replace the missing foreskin would require a hairless skin graft from somewhere on the body where it wouldn't normally be visible. The obvious place would be very high on the inside of the thigh. Skin harvest sites generally take a long while to heal and are quite painful. Illegal circumcision could be a major pain in the --ss as well as in the wallet.....
