Beware the circumcision quick-fix

Male circumcision has come under the spotlight in recent years for its role in curbing HIV infections. Government’s planned scale up of medical male circumcision (MMC) has been accompanied by some controversy as apparent “quick-fix” circumcision methods like the Tara KLamp (TK) are presenting some complications.

The TK has not been endorsed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and has been known to lead to more complications (also known as adverse events) than more established methods of medical circumcision.

In other reports both the TAC and HIV Clinicians Society have called for a removal of the TK from medical practice which has a higher incident rate than the standard forceps method. This added risk may also be a deterring factor to the ongoing and widespread criticisms already directed at the circumcision drive.

The KZN Health department might view the use of the Tara KLamp as a means of achieving high rates of circumcision but the effectiveness and reliability of such a device is still to be proven.

In a bid to reduce exposure to HIV there is also the problem of getting the wrong message across. Some might think MMC prevents them from being infected entirely (as circumcision only lowers one’s risk of infection) and therefore engage in high risk behaviour once circumcised.