Illegal circumcisions lead to gangrene of the penis

Four teenage boys in South Africa have been rushed to hospital with rotting penises after botched attempts at circumcision by a man running an initiation school.

In some parts of South Africa black youths still attend initiation schools where they are circumcised as a rite of passage into adulthood. The practice is unlicensed and illegal.

South African press report that the four youths were taken to St Barnabas Hospital in Libode today with severe infections of the penis. Two of the group merely had septic infections, two others are being treated for gangrene. One boy’s penis had become so infected with gangrene that the helmet had actually fallen off. It is feared he will be permanently emasculated.

The man who performed the butchering has been arrested. Circumcision of under 18s is illegal in South Africa.

Comment

Read All Comments

Socialize