How to Choose a Circumcision Doctor

How to Choose a Circumcision Doctor Dr. Travis: We actually got an email from a soon to be mom in Detroit with another concern about which doctor to choose and she writes “Dear Dr. Lisa and Dr. Sears. I'm eight months pregnant with my first baby boy and I just read an article about which doctor should perform the circumcision? You’re OB/GYN or your pediatrician. I plan on getting my baby circumcised. Has any other mom encountered this issue?” Dr. Sears: Oh, yeah you bet. Dr. Lisa: Yeah and it's because our specialties don’t even really have you know, well some will have preferences but you know, we kind of split it up we don’t really have territory over that. Dr. Sears: Because many OB’s do it. Dr. Lisa: Right. Dr. Sears: And then many pediatricians do it. Dr. Lisa: Yeah, I do circumcisions, you do circumcisions. Dr. Sears: Right and I think that often times if it is done in the hospital it really varies by the hospital. Some hospitals depending on which state you’re in most of the OB’s will do it. Dr. Lisa: Right. Dr. Sears: And out here in Southern California and the hospitals I’m all stepped at, it’s all the pediatricians do it. Dr. Lisa: Right. Well actually at the hospitals like, the OB’s do it and I actually will say to the mom, and all my mommies you know if there’s a pediatrician here who does it, I actually give it to the pediatrician. Dr. Sears: Yeah. Dr. Lisa: Because you know I think it had, it’s how the OB or the pediatrician does it because some pediatricians don’t like surgical procedures. And that’s why sometimes it’s been given to the OB because we’re surgical subspecialty. Dr. Sears: Yeah, sure. Dr. Lisa: But sometimes the OB doesn’t necessarily want to do a procedure on a baby because they didn’t go into pediatrics. So it is a gray. Dr. Sears: Gray it’s a gray area. Dr. Lisa: It’s a gray area. Dr. Sears: What I like is you know whose going to be taking care of it over the next few years. Dr. Lisa: Right. Dr. Sears: And it's all from the pediatrician you know obviously me that you're one even you're a two, there are some followup care that’s kind of a way I like pediatrician do it. However, I think rather its OB or pediatrician I that it’s a procedure that it's easy to do but it takes patience. Dr. Lisa: Yeah. Dr. Sears: You can’t rush through it. Dr. Lisa: I think we actually agree with those. I think the pediatrician’s should do it. Anybody who’s doing a surgical procedure should only do that surgery if they're going to follow up with that patient. Dr. Sears: Yeah. Dr. Lisa: So as an OB, I actually think the pediatricians should do it. Dr. Travis: And as a parent then should I asked “Hey, my pediatrician, is the procedures you do often, are you comfortable with this?” Dr. Sears: In some parts. Dr. Travis: And certainly if not and then you ask the OB/GYN are comfortable with it? Do you do this a lot? Because the last thing you want to do is go to the doctor who isn’t comfortable with it and say “I really want you to do it”. Dr. Sears: Right. Dr. Travis: And then here she might say “Well I don’t do this very often. You want someone who does it a lot”. Dr. Lisa: And that’s actually with any procedure. You want a doctor who does it a lot and feels comfortable with it and likes doing it.