The newborn period is the “window of opportunity” for circumcision, since the preventive effects occur from early infancy in the cases of urinary tract and local infections. The following reasons also favor newborn circumcision:
- Maximum psychologic/biologic adaptability and resilience
- High levels of hormones effecting stress and pain control
- Rapid healing
- Ease of surgery- many experienced operators
- Reasonable cost
Circumcision performed after the newborn period is more complicated and traumatic, there are fewer qualified operators and general anesthesia may be used, increasing the risk of complications. Healing is slower at older ages, and postneonatal circumcision is about 10 times as expensive as the newborn procedure, reflecting the increased surgical complexity with age.