Circumcision, what it is and in which cases the operation that Tommaso Zorzi underwent is performed

He underwent a circumcision surgerythe influencer and judge of Drag Race Italy Tommaso Zorzi. She communicated it personally to the two million fans, a few days ago, through her Instagram profile, where she ironically used the aubergine emoticon accompanying the writing: “Officially circumcised”.

With a subsequent video, Zorzi then specified: «I recovered from the effect of sedation. In the end I did it under local anesthesia but they sedated me because it was a slightly more complicated operation than expected, in the sense that I’ve been putting it off for years and therefore if I had done it ten years ago it would have been simpler».

What is circumcision

In antiquity, practices of this type had a meaning of religious initiation. Religions such as theJudaism and theIslam, often linked to the nomadic conditions of the populations which, due to the lack of water, were easily exposed to recurring infections. But what exactly is circumcision and in which cases, today – religion aside – is this type of operation performed?

The professor Joseph Argentianoprofessor of skin and venereal diseases at the Second University of Naples, talks about it specifically on the Veronesi Foundation website: “Circumcision It is a surgical method which consists of total or partial removal of the foreskin, the sliding flap of skin that covers the glans. Widespread among Jews and in various African populations, it is not a ritual practice in the Western world, except in cases where it is required to solve a health problem», writes the professor.

Cases in which circumcision is indicated

In the West, circumcision tends to be resorted to for specific medical needs, such as in the presence of phimosis – narrowing of the foreskin which, if left untreated, can cause symptoms such as pain during erection and urination – or lichen scleroatrophica rare chronic inflammatory disease that mainly affects the skin and mucous membranes of the anogenital area.

“Being circumcised can particularly reduce the incidence of chronic infections of the glans and of the cancer to the head of the penis, a neoplasm almost completely absent in the Jewish people, where circumcision is practiced immediately after birth», adds Professor Argenziano. “Circumcised men also have less chance of contracting the HIV virus from an HIV positive woman, although the immunological mechanism underlying this defense is not yet known”. Having said that, the sanitary conditions in which we live, however, allow us to adopt other, less invasive precautions to reduce the risk of contagion of sexually transmitted infections.

There is no ideal age for circumcision. In Italy, the National Health System recognizes it only if performed for medical reasons and it is more frequent that both an aware adult and not a child resort to this intervention. The operation is performed by urologists or plastic surgeonsthrough a standard procedure under the regime day hospital and, in adults, under local anesthesia. In the post-operative course it is suggested not to practice sport and not to have sexual intercourse for a few weeks.

Circumcision and sexual function: what impact?

What happens after circumcision in terms of male sexual function and pleasure? To deepen this issue were some US and Australian researchers who analyzed a copious amount of Scientific studies which concerned precisely the implication of circumcision on sexual function. A total of 36 studies were selected, for a total sample of about 40,000 subjects, half circumcised (of which 9,500 in childhood) and half uncircumcised.

Well: «The review of these studies did not highlight no difference in components of sexual function, sensitivity, sensation, and sexual pleasure between circumcised and uncircumcised men» explains the urologist Francesco Varvello in a medical article which sheds some light on the subject. And he adds: «The absence of effects on sexual function is established above all if one considers circumcision performed in childhood. In cases where circumcision is performed for medical reasons (most cases in Europe) it should be noted that alterations in sexual function may be the consequence of the pathology for which the operation is performed rather than for the intervention itself.

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