SAVANNAH, GA: Walmart, Sears and Amazon bow to public horror at DIY Plastibell sales

WOTC
October 24, 2014

Asked and Answered: In-home circumcision kit

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SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - It seems you can buy almost anything on the Internet, but one product being sold on popular store websites is raising a few eyebrows, and even led to a petition drive.

This isn't exactly the normal news story, but a WTOC viewer asked if a device show in a picture they sent was safe.

The device in question is a circumcision device meanr for babies, and at the time it was being sold on Walmart's website.

Since the message was sent, Walmart has discontinued selling the Plasti-Bell Circumcision Device after a petition and write-in campaign by angry customers. However, other retailers, including Sears and Amazon, also sold the item.

Now the item is no longer on Amazon or Sears. WTOC spoke with Dr. Dudley Stone of Coastal Pediatrics, who was pretty stunned after checking into the devices.

“It's scary because what's next?” he said. “People will be doing all sorts of things at home.”
He said no device sold in a store or online should be used in a procedure [at] home as sensitive and potentially dangerous as a circumcision, whether it's a child or an adult.

“At home circumcision is an unusual concept,” Stone said. “It's not something recommended by medical professionals and should be done by trained medical staff. To do it at home is not an acceptable technique, and this kit being sold is really intended for trained medical professionals.” [Someone should tell that to AAP Circumcision Task Force member Dr Andrew Freedman, who by his own admission, circumcised his own son on his parents' kitchen table.]

Stone called it a sign of the times; people want to save money and do it at home without seeing a doctor. He said the procedure is not one to fool around with and you should see a doctor.