Denuding the Shaft

I have written about this before, in the context of a discussion about arrogant mohels, and in the context of a bad story I was told by a baby nurse I worked with, and I hinted to it when I recounted a conversation I had with a urologist-grandfather with whom I worked directly. And I mentioned here why I would personally do my research in this regard were I to look for a mohel myself. Alas, being a mohel, I knew who was going to circumcise my sons.

But now I am calling it what it is.

So.... Do you use a Clamp?

I get this question a lot, and I think it's time to clarify what the tools of the trade are. 

The answer to the question, by the way, is NO. I don’t use a clamp.  Keep reading, to learn what it is and why some do use it. 

[The following links were added to the post below at a later date (based on when I blogged about them). While the links below address the "tools"/Bris Milah instruments that I use, what follows after the links is not addressed in the "SHIELD" blog post linked immediately below, so the remaining content of this blog post is still quite informative, even if you choose to follow the specific links that immediately follow]

The links to the specific "tools of the trade blog posts" are here - each which will give you a great overview of each item and how it is utilized.

SHIELD              TUBE               KNIFE              PROBE             HEMOSTATS 

MARKER              GLOVES             NUMBING

continuing the original blog post here....

I have blogged about the different methods utilized in bringing about the coveted circumcision result.

Here I will simply distinguish between the largely rabbinically approved, lauded and recommended device which is called a מגן - a Magen - a shield (in Hebrew).  And the "Mogen Clamp" developed by the mohel, Rabbi Harry Bronstein in the 50s (or thereabouts).

Here is a link to photos of shields. The basic gist is that a shield is a solid metal plate (once made of silver, but now more often made of steel) with a thin slit that divides the shield in half.

The foreskin is grasped with the thumb and index finger, and the shield is applied so that only the foreskin is drawn out - while the glans remains protected below the metal, and the foreskin is excised along the shield.

THIS IS THE ONLY KIND OF SHIELD FOR THE GLANS THAT I USE. 

I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING DEVICES

This Type of Thing Should NEVER Happen

At today's bris, as I was changing the bandage post-bris (in the Private Room), I was chatting with the baby nurse. She is relatively new in the field, and so all of her experiences are very clearly etched in her memory.

She told me that the last baby she cared for was brought to the hospital after the bris, because the mohel cut too much. I could not get a sense of the gravity of the details in question, though she indicated that the baby's glans had been seriously nicked. In either case, she said, "There was so much bleeding. It was a horror."

I asked her if she had accompanied the baby to the hospital. She did, with the baby's parents and their other child.