New Circumcision Device Delivers a Finer Cut

Two components are used to complete the circumcision procedure: a combined foreskin probe and shielding ring that makes certain that the glans is protected and the foreskin is properly aligned, and a single-action clamp that ensures adequate hemostasis and the precise delivery of the protected, circular blade. The probe is inserted beneath the foreskin, shielding the glans. The attached clamp, which can be activated only if the shield is in position, is then placed over the probe. When the lever is depressed, it crushes the foreskin, sealing blood vessels and preventing bleeding, while a circular steel blade excises the foreskin in one action. When the clamp is released and removed, the foreskin is withdrawn with the holder in the probe. The device cannot be reused, preventing the spread of HIV. The AccuCirc comes in a self-contained circumcision kit that included the combined foreskin probe and shielding ring, the single-action clamp and blade, a fenestrated drape with adhesive backing, a surgical marking pen, hemostats, sanitizing wipes, iodine swab sticks, lubricating jelly, a petrolatum dressing, and gauze. The kit is disposable in its entirety and no part of the device is retained on the infant. The AccuCirc disposable circumcision device is a product of Clinical Innovations (Murray, UT, USA).

"These two components work together to protect the infant from injury,” said Accucirc inventor David Tomlinson, M.D., a family medicine practitioner in Rhode Island (USA). "Not only do they simplify the circumcision procedure, but they also eliminate the need for a dorsal slit and remove the potential for mismatching parts. They also do away with the use of freehand scalpels, scissors, reusable clamps and safety pins in the procedure.”

"We designed the AccuCirc to eliminate complications that typically come from mismatched parts or freehand cutting,” said William Dean Wallace, M.D., Ph.D., executive VP of research and development at Clinical Innovations. "The shielding ring shields the glans from ever touching the blade and the foreskin probe acts as a key that activates the crushing arms and blade only when the correct size is placed within the device.”

In March 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), published data that concluded male circumcision is an effective intervention for HIV prevention, recommending that male circumcision should be recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men.

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