Consumer Reports uneeded surgeries article

[Kathryn]

CR put circumcision at #6 in the top 12 surgeries you may be better off without.

Before the bit about circ they said

When completely informed about alternative prostate treatments, men tend to choose less-aggressive options. But male patients have no say about another extremely common and medically unnecessary procedure: circumcision.

What they say after it isn't perfect, but hey, it's getting the word out there.

http://www.consumerreports.org/mg/fr..._surgeries.htm

[healthymantra]

Covered by Insurance?

I live in Minnesota, and was told recently that as of Jan 1 2006 insurance will no longer automatically cover Circumcision. Does anyone else have any information?

[Earthylady]

Thank you for posting that! That was a cool article!

[A&A]

Originally Posted by healthymantra

I live in Minnesota, and was told recently that as of Jan 1 2006 insurance will no longer automatically cover Circumcision. Does anyone else have any information?

Maybe that's referring to Medicaid? Medicaid has stopped covering circ in a lot of states.

[dnr3301]

Originally Posted by healthymantra

I live in Minnesota, and was told recently that as of Jan 1 2006 insurance will no longer automatically cover Circumcision. Does anyone else have any information?

Yeah, it's medicaid, no more state money towards circ (except for all those medically necessary ones, and oh yeah the religious ones done in the hospital )

I'm in Minnesota too. It actually already took effect, I think it was September 1, but I could be wrong.

Here's a link to another thread about this:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ight=minnesota

and a link to an article in the Star Tribune about it:
http://www.cirp.org/news/star-tribune09-01-05/

[Fi.]

(and oh yeah the religious ones done in the hospital )

Please don't roll your eyes at that, for Muslims a hospital circ DOES fulfill religious requirements even though it's debatable that those requirements even exist -- I'm talking for those who feel it does.

Now I bet we'll just have people lying and saying they're Muslim to get their circ for free though. Hopefully they require proof.

[Frankly Speaking]

It could be that the insurance plans in MN are also dropping coverage for circumcision. Ya' just never know!

I'm sure that Medicaid defunding circumcision is also empowering the insurance companies to also drop it in those states. This would be an unintended benefit.



Frank

[Quirky]

Originally Posted by Frankly Speaking

It could be that the insurance plans in MN are also dropping coverage for circumcision. Ya' just never know!

I'm sure that Medicaid defunding circumcision is also empowering the insurance companies to also drop it in those states. This would be an unintended benefit.



Frank

My understanding is that it is far from unintended.

[Pariah]

Thanks for that link, it's interesting! I also e-mailed it to my mom, not because she is pro-circ (she's not), but because she keeps encouraging me to ask my midwives to automatically do an episiotomy (um, no?!) and that's #4 on there...

[CallMeMommy]

HA!!!!

"Wisdom-tooth extraction. The four wisdom teeth in the back of the mouth, which usually emerge between age 17 and 25, can get impacted, or lodged so firmly in the jawbone that they can’t break through the gum. Many dentists believe that routinely removing impacted wisdoms can prevent future problems, such as damage to or misalignment of other teeth. But there’s little if any evidence to justify that concern. Moreover, the procedure causes not only postoperative pain and swelling but also, in about 1 percent of patients, nerve damage that permanently numbs the tongue or lip.

Recommendation. Get a second opinion if your dentist advises removing an impacted wisdom tooth that isn’t causing any trouble."

And everyone thought I was nuts for leaving them in!!! They didn't hurt, why touch them. I do have to get the lower ones removed because they're causing problems, but the top two are staying in even though the dentist told me to get them taken out "since I'd be there anyway". :eyeroll

Sorry to post-hijack

[dnr3301]

Originally Posted by Fi.

Please don't roll your eyes at that, for Muslims a hospital circ DOES fulfill religious requirements even though it's debatable that those requirements even exist -- I'm talking for those who feel it does.

Now I bet we'll just have people lying and saying they're Muslim to get their circ for free though. Hopefully they require proof.

OK, did not know that.

[paminmi]

Originally Posted by dnr3301

Yeah, it's medicaid, no more state money towards circ (except for all those medically necessary ones, and oh yeah the religious ones done in the hospital )

I will admit I'm cynical but I wonder how many boys will end up diagnosed with "phimosis" in order to get Medicaid to pay for a medically indicated circumcision??

[Frankly Speaking]

Originally Posted by paminmi

I will admit I'm cynical but I wonder how many boys will end up diagnosed with "phimosis" in order to get Medicaid to pay for a medically indicated circumcision??

You're justified in being cynical. In Australia after they ended government funding of neonatal routine circumcision, they saw that there was a rash of circumcisions to resolve phimosis in boys as young as 1 month old. Those also came mainly from one area of the country and it was concluded that the trend was just a way to get the government to pay for routine circumcisions. I don't know what, if anything, they did about it.

Mississippi requires prior approval for circumcisions and the application must be accompanied by a pathology report. If they are doing it right, they are refusing essentially all applications. I can imagine that after a few are rejected, that the doctors will just tell their Medicaid patients to forget about Medicaid payment and to dig deep into their pocket if they want it done. I also heard that in one state (I think it was Utah) that doctors were performing circumcisions for free but I doubt that will last long.



Frank

[pjlioness]

Originally Posted by CallMeMommy

HA!!!!

"Wisdom-tooth extraction. The four wisdom teeth in the back of the mouth, which usually emerge between age 17 and 25, can get impacted, or lodged so firmly in the jawbone that they can’t break through the gum. Many dentists believe that routinely removing impacted wisdoms can prevent future problems, such as damage to or misalignment of other teeth. But there’s little if any evidence to justify that concern. Moreover, the procedure causes not only postoperative pain and swelling but also, in about 1 percent of patients, nerve damage that permanently numbs the tongue or lip.

Recommendation. Get a second opinion if your dentist advises removing an impacted wisdom tooth that isn’t causing any trouble."

And everyone thought I was nuts for leaving them in!!! They didn't hurt, why touch them. I do have to get the lower ones removed because they're causing problems, but the top two are staying in even though the dentist told me to get them taken out "since I'd be there anyway". :eyeroll

Sorry to post-hijack

Oh, good, now I can keep ignoring mine, unless they start causing problems. Woohoo. Dentist have been advising me for 10+ years to get them out, but I've never gotten around to it. Nice to have vindication from CR!

Now back to your regularly scheduled circ discussion. (BTW, I am thrilled to find circ on their list!)

[Fi.]

I've got 3 of mine (I'm missing 2 teeth as well) and I love them. I'm not getting them taken out.

[Patchfire]

To further hijack, I had a dental hygienest (argh, sp?) tell me I should have my wisdom teeth removed - even though they aren't impacted, they're in straight, and I have plenty of room - to make it easiest to get a professional cleaning.

Talk about your unnecessary surgeries!


I do wish their wording on circumcision had been a little stronger, but it might make people think about it even a little when they hadn't before.

[movingon]

It was great to see it listed there. Thanks for the link.

If nothing else, it will just make someone like me who thought circumcision was stupid on his/her own feel vindicated. It may not do more than make people (who feel that illogical pull towards doing it as a social thing) give the article a double-take. However, it might be fuel for people who haven't thought much about it. Every step, no matter how small, is important in any attempt to make a change as big as this one.

[nd_deadhead]

There are several positives in having circumcision on this list. First of all, circumcision is on a list of unnecessary SURGERIES. So many people think "it's just a snip", and don't realize it is actually an operation. For some people, this fact alone might be enough to make them stop and think.

And being on a list of UNNECESSARY surgeries highlights the fact that there is no compelling medical benefit to doing it. Again, just putting that label on RIC might be enough to make people stop and think.

Finally, the fact that it comes from Consumer Reports, which tends to be a fairly reliable source, eliminates the issue of "source bias". Where many people might be tempted to dismiss info they read from CIRP or DOC, I don't think anyone can accuse CR of circ bias one way or the other.

[CallMeMommy]

Originally Posted by Fi.

I've got 3 of mine (I'm missing 2 teeth as well) and I love them. I'm not getting them taken out.

You get a little emotionally attached to them, don't you?!

[splash]

I've had 17 extractions... one random one and FOUR COMPLETE SETS of wisdom teeth. All surgical. Each time they have to break my jaw to get them out. Each time it is a major recovery.
This time I actually toyed with the idea of just removing my back molars and letting my wisdom teeth actually come in. I thought maybe if they were never removed, the buds would stop making new ones. I don't think it'll work though. More surgery for me. :
Before you ask, no. No one has any clue why. They just keep growing back.