great post......
it's amazing the amount of scientific evidence that has accrued to substantiate the ancient methods of circumcision
news-star.com
Study: Jewish circumcision tool better than standard doctor's device
By BRIGITTE GREENBERG, Associated Press Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Mohels, the practitioners of the ancient Jewish rite of circumcision, appear to inflict less pain on their subjects than do most physicians, possibly because of the tools they use, a researcher says.
In a study involving 48 newborn boys, the Mogen clamp used by mohels was found to be much quicker to deploy and less painful than the Gomco device favored by most doctors.
Boys circumcised with a Mogen had less than half the heart rate increase and total crying time of infants circumcised with a Gomco.
Blood oxygen levels also were higher in the Mogen infants, a sign that they suffered less stress, said Dr. Hema N. DeSilva, director of neonatology at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, the study leader and a regular user of the mohel's clamp.
"With the Mogen clamp, half of them didn't cry at all. They were comfortable," DeSilva said.
The study was published in last month's edition of OB/GYN News.
Dr. Thomas E. Wiswell, a professor of pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and an expert on circumcision, said he found the report intriguing but warned that it was a relatively small study.
The findings were no surprise to Rabbi Yehuda Lebovics, a Los Angeles mohel who has performed more than 10,000 circumcisions. A mohel does not have to be a rabbi.
"Doctors are not as comfortable with the whole procedure," he said.
"A mohel is used to working with a grandmother breathing down his neck," he said, noting that most circumcisions are done in the home.
The researchers concluded that infants should be anesthetized to reduce pain no matter which clamp is used.
Copyright 1997 The Shawnee News-Star |
